


Dancing Winds

by DSaph



Category: Naruto
Genre: Belly Dancing, Dancing, F/M, Forced Orgasm, Forced Relationship, Kidnapping, Light Bondage, Non-Consensual Oral Sex, Rape
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-27
Updated: 2015-11-30
Packaged: 2018-01-13 22:49:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 15
Words: 115,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1243462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DSaph/pseuds/DSaph
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Madara kidnaps Temari during the fourth shinobi war. She's forced to entertain him, but he becomes more and more demanding. Madara becomes obsessed with her while waiting for the Shinju tree to bloom. And the Allied Forces are still trying to win the war.<br/>Temari has to figure out how to balance keeping her sanity and staying alive.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This story starts in the anime episode #323. Nothing racy will happen for a while.
> 
> This is all in fun so I hope no one gets upset by anything I write. I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own anything that's already somebody else's
> 
> Italics are used for inner monologues and thoughts.

Naruto's clone was at his limit as the five kage promised him that they would be able to win the battle with the reanimated Uchiha Madara.

The kage were confident, but Temari couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that haunted her.

She was incredibly thankful that she was in the same division as Gaara and able to look after him. But as grateful as she was, she did not think that she could handle watching this dead Uchiha seriously hurt or kill her little brother.

Her arm was barely injured from the falling asteroids but she found her grip on it tightening the more she contemplated Gaara's fate.

Temari heard the guys behind her take off after the fragmented Lord Mu and it reminded her that she too needed to go do something useful. She decided to round up the rest of the fourth division. With the Kazekage very preoccupied and Shikamaru elsewhere, this task fell to her.

But first she wanted to find Matsuri and Yukata. Temari didn't exactly know why or how, but she could feel a bond developing with them. She wouldn't go so far as to call them friends but she appreciated them for the girls they were.

She also owed them back for trying to embarrass her about Shikamaru. "An intelligent guy" her foot, she knew who they were talking about, and Temari planned on setting them straight. Sure, he's intelligent and kind of handsome, but she definitely didn't like him like that.

This is war and there is no time for those kinds of thoughts or that kind of behavior. If she caught anyone around her behaving in that manner she would be sure to give them a piece of her mind.

She found an area with scattered shinobi, "All right, everyone. If you're alive, look it! We may not be in the main fight right now but we need to be ready to give support at a moment's notice."

The Iwa nin closest to Temari, named Ikuo, cringed and thought,  _I really can't stand that woman. Her attitude, her voice, everything about her is annoying. I still can't believe I'm in her division when this time last year I was chasing her through a mountain pass. I don't mind fighting with all of the other nations, but some people should have been left at home. Everyone else seems OK with her though, so I'd better keep my thoughts to myself._

If he technically wasn't the next in charge after Temari, Ikuo would have hidden beneath a rock just to get away from her.

He told her that he and the others nearby would assemble all those they could find alive and meet her back here.

As he walked off, he turned back around to confirm how long they would look when he saw a blur and then she was gone. Ikuo knew Temari couldn't even  _appear_  to travel that fast without her fan out. Something wasn't right, but he didn't particularly care.

"Is something wrong, Ikuo?" Ikuo shook his head at the Kumo nin next to him. There was no way he was going to look this gift horse in the mouth, and he raced off to look for survivors with renewed vigor.


	2. Unanswered Questions

Temari woke prone on a cold hard floor feeling heavy and slow. Sick and disoriented, she couldn't seem to get her bearings. It didn't help that her surroundings were completely dark.

She reached out around her and felt nothing. There was nothing to feel but the ground. She tried to use all of her senses. She smelled the air and it reeked of earth. It wasn't the rich moist smell of soil or the arid smell of the desert. It was almost dank.

She could hear faint rumbles but she couldn't tell where they were coming from in her disoriented state.

"It would be nice to have some lights around here." Nothing happens and she wondered why she said it in the first place. She can't sense anyone else around, so she sits back down and starts to think.

The only thing accomplished by putting her in this abyss, that she could see, was that she was no longer on the battlefield. She tried to focus on who might not want her up there and why. She was not in the main battle against Madara or Lord Mu so it probably wasn't one of them.

Temari wasn't even sure if anyone would notice she was gone right away.

_Someone must have figured this was the perfect chance to dispose of me. I do have a few people who don't like me. They probably couldn't take me very far without being missed themselves; trying to set up some kind of an alibi._

Temari started to talk out loud. The silence was becoming deafening and it helped to calm her anxiety about the situation. "They're trying to put me through some sort of sense deprivation. Well, I have news for-"

A gentle rumble surrounded her and a soft light filled the room. After her eyes adjusted she stood up and looked around. The first thing she scanned for was her fan, but it wasn't there.

"Am I in someone's home?"

She figured that she was underground because of the faint intermittent rumbles that she could now tell came from above and because the ceiling was covered with sprawling roots. The walls were all rough stone and there were more than a few doors.

Against one side was a kitchen area with a western style dining table. Further towards the center of the room was a sitting area. There were a couple of couches and arm chairs that look crudely made from tree trunks along with a stone coffee table and a lot of empty space all around. It was a man-made underground cavern.

There were six large wooden doors and she tried opening them all. Only one opened and it led to a long dead-end hallway with four more locked doors on one side. She made her way back to the large open room and decided to feel against the walls for some kind of opening. She found nothing.

Temari started thinking of a way to get out of there. She didn't know how deep underground she was, so that left her with few options that would not result in a cave-in that could kill her.

She went back over to the locked doors and tried to kick them in. They hardly budged. The doors were somehow reinforced against force and chakra and after a few kicks, punches, shoulder throws, wind blades, and small tornadoes nothing was happening.

If she couldn't get out, she needed to at least get a message out. She tried summoning Kamatari or any one of her weasels, but absolutely nothing happened. She tried it three times and just felt drained by the end of it.

"Where the hell am I?" she mumbled to herself.

"You're here." Temari jumped back and turned to see a white zetsu clone smiling at her.

"Stay back." She warned him. Even though none of the clones showed up on her battlefield, it was common knowledge what they were capable of.

The clone sunk into the floor and projected his voice out. "There's no reason to attack me. I'm here to help you."

"Yeah right. Just like you helped at the Kage summit and like you've been helping the alliance on the battlefield. I don't think so you clone freak." Temari jumped on the dining table to avoid him grabbing her legs from the ground and stayed alert to her surroundings.

"That wasn't too nice. There was no need to call me a freak. From the looks of it, I'm the only one willing to be near you right now. Maybe you're the freak."

"Ha. Ha." After a few moments of silence Temari figured that she had to get information from someone and the only someone around was Zetsu.

"Are we beneath a forest?" She asked.

"Those are my roots. Don't worry yourself about them." Temari flinched when she saw a zetsu come out of a root and drop to the floor while another rose from the ground.

"Hi. You can call me Z." It seemed that the one from above was the new addition.

"Why are there two of you here? Shouldn't you be out there fighting?" As if on cue a light boom made its way through the stone.

"We'd rather be down here with you." they both said while gesturing for Temari to have a seat on the couch.

"I'm fine where I am. Now why am I here?"

"Because he thinks you should be here. He'll explain more when he comes." Temari figured the first zetsu, the one from the ground, must be the zetsu in charge.

"Who is 'he?' And why does 'he' want me here? And where am I in the first place?"

Z laughed, "We told you already. Are you always this forgetful?"

"You did not tell me anything."

"Oh, maybe we didn't. It doesn't matter, anyway."

"This is really starting to get irritating. How do I get out of here?"

"There is no way out until he decides that you can leave."

She took jumped off the table and said, "I'm going to kill you two idiots if you don't start giving me real answers right now. Now who put me here?"

"Madara." they both said.

Well this definitely changed things. Was she just a prisoner of war? But why would the actual leader of Akatsuki bother with her in the first place? Then she remembered that there were two Madaras. "Wait, which Madara, the old masked one or the new dead one?"

"The old original Madara." Zetsu chuckled.

"So the masked one?"

"No, the dead one." said Z.

Temari blanched and made her way over to one of the crude couches.  _Why would some dead guy transport me to an underground apartment prison?_  That just made her even more confused.

"Why me? Why am I here?"

"You said not to underestimate you. Or are we mistaken?"

"It was me, but I'm no  _real_  threat to Madara." She nervously chuckled, "That was just harmless battlefield bravado. I wasn't being serious. He knows I wasn't serious." She strained out a sigh with her last laughs. "For goodness sake go up there and tell him that I wasn't serious!" She broke out in a cold sweat.  _See if I ever open my mouth again during a fight._

She continued, "If anyone should be here, he or she should be a kage or something. Not that you should bring one of them down here either…"

"And yet  _you_  are here." The one called Z said.

Temari gained some of her anger back and shouted, "This is ridiculous! He didn't even acknowledge me up there. He hardly glanced at me. He  _brushed_   _off_  my attack as if it were nothing. It  _was_ nothing to him. Now tell me why I'm really here."

"I'm happy you're down here and not up there. If you were up there you could be dead by now and then who would I talk to?" Z had a comically sad frown that didn't fit his naturally smiling face.

"Yourself, each other, I really don't care who you talk to you crazy freak. And even if I were dead at least it would be with my comrades defending our world. Instead I'm going crazy and talking to a plant in a magical underground bunker. Now why am I here?"

"Hey! This is much better than just a bunker. There's even a bathroom down here." Z leaned in and stage whispered, "It's for you to poo in."

"There's also a stocked kitchen. We worked really hard on this place. We're still working hard on this whole thing." Zetsu haughtily added.

"What?"

"Madara gave us plans to build this place before he died. We've been working on it for years."

"You've been planning on kidnapping me for years!"

"No, not you. Just building this place. We've got to go, but we'll be back soon." Said Zetsu.

"So don't get too worried. The bathroom and the library are now unlocked so have fun figuring out where they are." added Z

Zetsu and Z sunk into the ground and right before Z's face disappeared he called out, "Madara will be here soon."

They were gone, and she was once again left alone.

* * *

 

"Mokuton: Kajukai Korin!" (Wood Release: Deep Forest Bloom)

Gaara was almost stunned as the giant blossoms raced towards him and the other kage. "Kazekage!" The Hokage's voice brought him back to reality in an instant. He lifted everyone above the newly wrought forest, and as he marveled at the tangle of branches, he hoped that Temari and the others had managed to get a safe distance away. He knew that Madara would demand everything of him, and he just couldn't afford to worry about anyone who couldn't contribute to this battle.

* * *

 

Temari actually found three rooms that were now unlocked.

The bathroom was amazing. It was huge. There was a large natural looking stone pond and the water looked steamy and inviting. There was even a small little waterfall flowing into it. Along the far wall was a stone bench coming out of the wall with towels and buckets while the toilet and shower was in a smaller private room off to the side. It was like an underground onsen. It was calming just to look at.

The library was a cozy room with a golden hue. There were plenty of scrolls and books and a desk in the middle of the room with some sitting chairs placed between a couple of the bookshelves that lined the walls. There was even a nice shogi set ready to be played with. 

The third room was a little strange. It was a thoroughly traditional room. The door opened to a small area that acted as a barrier to the actual room. It led to a paper screen sliding door. Beyond that, the room was bright and reminded her of Konoha for some reason. The walls looked like paper screens and the floors were covered in tatami mats. You could never guess that this room was in an underground cavern. There were cushions for sitting on the floor and a low table in the middle of the room. A large section of the room was bare and raised about half a foot above the rest of the room.

None of this really made sense to her, but even so it all seemed to be done completely on purpose.

She went back out to the wooden couch and put her feet on the coffee table. It was time for her to figure this mess out.

* * *

 

The searing heat combined with the suffocating pollen produced by Madara's jutsu brought the Kazekage to the brink of unconsciousness. He struggled to lift his head and looked around at the other kage. They were literally dropping like flies.

His mind flew through all the books he read to prepare for this war. Was there anything in any of them that covered fighting against revived and practically immortal shinobi? He didn't think so.

His chest was getting tighter and he could see the darkness closing in. Gaara made a silent prayer for the safety of the alliance without its kage to lead them. He had faith that new leaders would emerge but he hoped that the alliance could get over this loss quickly.

He prayed for Sunagakure. Suna always needed a prayer. It's so easy to feel and become alone out in the desert. Gaara hoped that Suna might be able to make some lasting relationships through all of this.

He prayed that Naruto could continue to change hearts and minds.

He prayed the hardest for his family. He felt like he had too few years of actually living with them as siblings. That was his one regret. He wished that he could have known their support before his fateful trip to Konohagakure. He hoped they would both come out of this war victorious and able to achieve the happiness they both deserved.

He finally prayed for himself and the kage next him. He prayed that their past deeds be forgiven and that their intentions matter much more than their actions. The heat went from searing to comforting and Gaara drifted into unconsciousness.


	3. New Clothes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics are thoughts.

_So I've been kidnapped by the undead Madara and placed in a stone apartment/prison._

_How stupid of me not to have a plan in place for just this common occurrence. What was I thinking? Where's a genius when you need one?_

_Probably somewhere not thinking about me._

_Back to the evil dead…_

_I'm here because my big mouth got Madara's attention. I don't think he took me because of my abilities. I'm not that special. My chakra isn't limitless, I don't have a magical powerful being housed in my body, and I'm not from some extraordinary clan._ _I also don't have any unusual abilities, unless you count my mouth writing checks my butt can't cash. We're far beyond negotiating so there's no way I'm being held as some bargaining chip. (I don't even think an Uchiha can actually comprehend the concept of negotiation.)_

_No, I don't think he cares that I'm related to the Kazekage. I don't think he even knows I'm related to Gaara. I'm not a significant piece in this war. So why the hell am I here?_

_Shit! Does anyone even know that I'm missing? I doubt it with all of the-_

Temari jumped more than she wished she had when Madara showed up out of nowhere in front of her in a cloud of wispy smoke.

The room grew colder and goosebumps ran up her arms as Temari looked at him, but she couldn't will herself to look higher than his chest. She knew of the dangers of the Sharingan.

He stared down at her with his arms crossed and didn't move an inch.

Temari finally remembered herself.  _No matter who this guy is, you're still Temari. He's got to be a clone anyway._ She stood up straight, tried to take a subtle calming breath, and looked him in the face.

She held back a grimace at his dead cracked skin. It looked like it might chip off of his face at any moment. She kept looking and finally met his terrifying purple eyes. She couldn't help but to stare into them and was surprised to still be breathing a moment later.

Clone or not, with no way out it wouldn't be wise to destroy it yet. She also needed to get more answers before she upset him. She knew she could have easily been tied up on the couch instead of standing in front of it.

She can't take the silence any longer and asked him, "Why am I here?" More than a couple of moments pass and Temari is finding it easier and easier to meet his gaze. She repeated, "Why am I here?"

"Because I want you here."

"What do you want from me?" She swallowed hard as he started to walk toward her. The clanking of his body armor consumed the entire room. She could barely think with him coming towards her. She instinctively took a step back and fell on the couch. He smirked down at her and stopped a few paces away.

"Urgh! Just tell me what you want, and how I can get out of here." She straightens herself out and crosses her arms.

He remained quiet and unmoved. Temari couldn't deny the unease this man caused in her, but her patience was wearing thin.

"I don't know why you picked me, but you picked the wrong person. I'm not telling you anything about the five kage or the alliance. You'll just have to throw me back and hope the next person is more compliant. Although I doubt that even you will be able to get one of our shinobi to talk. You probably don't even understand the mentality of present day shinobi.

"Or am I even talking to Madara right now? You could just be the jutsu user acting through him. Just send me back now and save your time, whoever you are." She leaned back on the couch with her arms still crossed and a new smug look on her face.

She was secure in that she knew he knew nothing of her and her past.  _Heck, he's been dead for decades. He's probably just feeling clueless about the world and needs a few random questions answered or something._

"Information is not what I want from you." Confusion flashed across Temari's face.

 _If it's not intel then what is it? Does he just want to mess with Gaara? He_ is _fighting him. Maybe he wants to get in his head or something. But there's no way he could know we're siblings. We don't even look alike._

_Did he think the fourth division would fall apart? He couldn't know that I was presently in charge of the division. Even so, we have a well-established order in place. My absence won't impede our army's actions. This has to be the jutsu user._

"Hmpf. Took you long enough." Temari's eyes widened in disbelief.  _No way. There's no way that he can read minds too. Does that mean I finally figured out what he wanted?_

The two zetsus appeared holding two big duffel bags each. "We had to travel a long way, Madara. We got everything you wanted though." Temari cringed at the creepy way they had of talking together and also at her inner embarrassment for having thought Madara could read her mind.

"Of course you did." His eyes never left Temari. "Temari isn't it?"

 _Shit. How does he know my name?_ "You know that's my name." Her tension was pouring through her words.  _What else does he know about me? About everything?_

She finally understood what she thought Itachi must have felt because she definitely wanted to wipe all the remaining Uchihas off the face of the planet.

"Hn. I suppose I do. You have no knowledge that I need. I want you here because I simply want someone to be here for my amusement. You're also shaping up to be more entertaining than fighting those pitiful excuses of shinobi you call kage. So I will send a clone every once and a while down here during the war too. Zetsu will explain some things for you. I'll be back soon."

What Madara did not tell Temari was that he picked her because he wanted to destroy that cocky attitude of hers. But he figured it would be more fun if she didn't know that was his true goal.

"Wait! What if you don't come back? What if they seal you?" He strode over to her and patted her head. Temari hated people touching her without her permission but she tried to hide her irritation. This wasn't the time to make these people irritated with her. Not just yet. Not until she had an escape plan.

"They won't. But Zetsu will take care of things if I'm no longer around." and he disappeared.

The zetsus brought her out of her thoughts as they dropped the bags they were holding on the dining table.

Zetsu was the first to speak, "These are for you. And don't worry; I won't hurt you unlike him."

"Are you sure?" Temari did not miss the ambiguity in her own question or in their answer.

"Yes. We're your new best friends." The one who wanted to be called Z said this. She noticed that Zetsu's body wasn't as twisted as Z's.

"Oh great. I always wanted some really freaky friends to have sleepovers with."

"We don't sleep." They said together.

"Do you guys know that you're really creepy?"

"Yes," they both stated.

"What's in the bags?" Temari got off the couch and started to walk over to the table.

"The only way to know is to open them yourself."

"I won't get hit with some kind of knockout gas or anything will I?"

"Nope." Z and Zetsu took seats at the dining room table directly across from her to get the best view. Now Temari was really getting suspicious of the bags' contents.

She slowly unzipped the first bag and found two sets of fans on top of a bunch of fabric. She opened one of the fans and was amazed at its beauty. The metal was silver and the leaves of the fan had cherry blossom branches over a lavender ombre background. They were regular sized hand fans but had a good weight to them. She charged them with a bit of chakra and was surprised that it worked.

_Why would Madara give me weapons after taking away all of mine? She was not about to hand these over to Zetsu though. Any weapon is better than no weapon, and these were nice weapons._

The other pair of fans was much larger than the hand fans but nowhere near as large as her main weapon. They were all black with a red moon and a red forest landscape on the leaves. It didn't take a genius to understand the significance of the scene. These made her nervous, and they didn't respond to her chakra.

She quickly set them aside, and it came to her.  _That bastard doesn't mind giving me weapons because he knows I can't even begin to try to kill him._

Temari failed at hiding her anger. She hated being thought of as a weakling, but she tried to console herself with the thought that there were very few who weren't in front of Madara from what she could see. And at least she managed to actually land a hit on him. From what she knew she was one of the few who weren't a kage who managed such a feat.

Even with that thought she had no delusions, one on one with Madara would have a very quick and final end for her. She could not approach him physically. She didn't even have a way to seal him down here.

She began to unpack the fabric and realized that they were clothes. This bag and the second bag were filled with clothes. Some of them looked like really expensive kimonos and obis while others had chiffon and lighter materials that seemed too complicated for her to wrap her mind around at the moment.  _Great. He goes on a shopping spree for me. I don't need new clothes. Especially clothes I don't understand._

"Don't worry, Temari. I'll be helping you with your clothes from now on anyway."

"I bet you just know all about fashion. I mean, you must go shopping all the time for yourself."

"You're going to be fun, Temari."

Temari's mind started to race as she went through the pile of fabric.  _Why would Madara give me clothes? Why would he give me_ these _clothes...?_

 _He wants me in_ these _clothes. I don't like where this is going at all. This changes everything._

Temari's head started to feel tight and her tongue felt like it took up her whole mouth. She started to find it hard to focus and she felt a sudden light-headedness.

_No, NO, **NO!** I've got to get out of here._

She grabbed hold of the table to steady herself and asked Zetsu, "What's the meaning of all of this?"

"Aren't you going to look in the other bags?"

Temari did not like this one bit. In fact, there was nothing she liked about this entire day. From Madara getting resurrected to having a dialogue with zetsus, it's all gone downhill. So she steadied herself and mentally prepared for whatever atrocities would meet her in the next two bags.

She quickly opened the third bag and sighed in relief. These were her clothes, her shoes, her hygiene products. It was all hers. Well, she didn't recognize a few pairs of shoes but compared to the first two bags she truly couldn't care less about a few pairs of sandals. Her mind would not let her enjoy the sight for too long though.

There was enough stuff in this bag to last her quite a while. She did not like the idea of staying in captivity for longer than a day let alone a couple of weeks or longer. This just made her situation all the more urgent.

Zetsu began to chuckle as he watched her face go from a look of relief to a look of concern.

Temari slowly looked to Zetsu and whispered "Why?"

Z got up and started rubbing her back up and down. "It's OK, Temari. We'll be here with you. I'm your friend remember."

Temari swiftly moved away from him down to the last bag. She opened the last bag and saw a bunch of kanzashi or hair ornaments.

 _Kanzashi? Why would I need these?_ She picked a couple up and they tinkled in her hand.  _Well, I could probably use these as a weapon if I need to._

She sorted past the kanzashi and saw a shiny chain. She pulled on it and a pair of handcuffs appeared. She dug deeper and found a lot of things that she didn't recognize.

 _Why would he bring a metal bar? I'm sure he doesn't need a lead pipe to murder me in the conservatory with._   _And why on earth would I need mittens down here?_ There were lots of cuffs, leather straps, small chains, and different types of rope.

Temari held up a collar to get a better look at it. It was purple leather and had four metal D-rings on it. She put it down and saw what looked like a larger version of the collar.

_I don't know what over half of that stuff is, but I know it doesn't look fun._

Temari collapsed into a dining room chair and let her head fall on the table. She closed her eyes and suddenly felt exhausted. She listened to Z and Zetsu put the things back into the bags and tried to stop her head from spinning.

In a dark shadow in the corner of the room, Madara's clone surreptitiously disappeared.

* * *

Madara inwardly smirked as his clone passed on his interaction with Temari and her reactions. He was still just playing with the kage, and he had to admit to himself that he wanted to get this war over with quickly. He wanted to play in a different way.

Madara hated weakness, and the one thing he couldn't stand more than weakness was one who was weak and didn't acknowledge it. He saw this most often in women. Women like the Hokage, the Mizukage, and little Temari.

Something about her comment from earlier about not "underestimating her" had stuck in his mind. He knew that a woman who knew her place in life was much more valuable than an over-confident kunoichi any day. He would be the one to give the gift of self-awareness to Temari, and he would enjoy destroying the girl she thought she was.

He thoroughly enjoyed making people realize their own limitations in the face of true power like his. But with Temari he could be more subtle than with the kage. There was no need to kill her. In fact, her gift to him for her enlightenment would be her life.

Temari as the world knew her would no longer exist. Well, the entire world as it is wouldn't exist if Madara won, but Temari would be his own little project on the side. He always did have an affinity for Suna in his first life.

He sent a couple of nearby zetsus on a quest to get some more information about her and report it to him.

Madara was slammed into a rock face and was forced to acknowledge a bit of Tsunade's power.

_It seems that the Hokage isn't as weak as I originally thought but she's still a far cry from true power. I'll dance with them for a little longer and then I'm moving on to bigger things._


	4. Tea Service

"Temari, you should start getting ready. Madara is coming back soon and he doesn't approve of unisex clothing." Z tapped Temari on her shoulder bringing her back to the present.

"What did you just say?"

"He likes women to look like women. So get up and put this on." All of the bags were gone and a light pink kimono with a silver obi was on the table.

Temari picked up the Kimono and was thankful it wasn't one of the fancier ones she noticed.

She let out a sigh of resignation, "Why me, Zetsu? I'm not the prettiest girl out there. I'm definitely not the youngest or the oldest he could find. So why me?" She looked up at Zetsu with almost a look of desperation. "I'm not even from Konohagakure."

"Because he saw you." Temari practically leapt over the table at Zetsu and punched him in the chest.

"He had to have seen others too. You both knew my name, and I've never even met you before. So you must know of other girls. Why not choose someone who makes more sense?"

Z put his hands up in a calming manner towards Temari. "Hey, hey, will you promise not to hit me if I say something?"

"It depends on what you have to say."

"Who would make more sense? Who should be here instead of you?"

Temari opened her mouth to speak but stopped.

The first name that came to mind was Haruno Sakura. Sakura was actually from Konoha and she had experience dealing with Uchihas.

Or maybe Ino.

Temari always admired Ino's ultra-feminine looks. She was a real blonde with long smooth hair and a really nice figure. She personally couldn't imagine how boys could resist her. She had always wondered if Shikamaru and Ino were ever involved. She imagined that if she were a man and on the same team as her that she probably would have gotten with Ino a long time ago.

But Temari wouldn't forsake anyone like that. What if they decided to act on her word? She couldn't live with being responsible for getting someone kidnapped. And she had to admit to herself that she probably wouldn't be much of a help up there anyway.

She knew she would not get out by trading places. "It doesn't matter. I'm just having a hard time understanding why I'm the one experiencing this."

"Remember you promised not to punch me, but it really is because he saw you. You're prettier than you think, Temari. He also wanted to be sure to not 'underestimate' you. Your attitude is perfect for Madara's purpose. You're just the type of girl he wants."

Temari cringed. "And what is it that Madara wants exactly? You  _are_  supposed to tell me."

"I thought I said it already, Temari. He wants you."

"You can come up with a better answer than that. I am in no mood to be toyed with."

"That's too bad, because that's what you are."

"I am not a toy!" yelled Temari.

"Okay, Okay. Whatever you say. But why don't we begin getting ready for his return. You don't want to disappoint him."

Temari smirked at him and crossed her arms. "And if I do disappoint?"

"Well…I guess you'll find out once it happens. But I don't think you'll like it."

"Maybe she will like it," piped in Zetsu.

"Well no one here will judge you either way. It's all just between you and him…and us. But we are him so we won't tell. Now go get dressed. We'll be picking out your outfits until you have a better sense of what you should wear. Come back out here when you're done and I'll tie your obi."

"I can dress myself thank you."

"Actually you can't. I will always finish dressing you for Madara. Whether you like it or not."

"Fine."  _Pick your battles Temari. This could turn out to be a very long war._

This pink kimono was nothing like her black one. It was in no way made to allow for free leg movement. She was already starting to feel confined. She missed her own clothes.

"I'm glad the kimono isn't too big. Madara will expect food, tea, and entertainment while you're here. There are a few books in the library you can read to get better at cooking. You should study them whenever you can."

Temari snorted and crossed her arms. "If he wants entertainment he'd better bring a TV down here or something. It sounds like he just wants a maid. You can tell him right now that this isn't going to turn into some fantasy of his."

Zetsu laughed, "Do you know how to serve tea properly? He's expecting it when he returns."

"Unfortunately I do know how to serve tea properly even though I think it's a big waste of time. Do the dead even need to eat and drink?"

"Well, no. But he finds value in the tea ceremony. Go start getting the tea service ready. The water is already heating on the stove." Temari huffed over to the kitchen but kept stumbling from her restricted gait.

She started getting the tray ready while Z took the boiling water into the traditional room.  _I guess that's his entertainment room._ A sudden shiver went up her spine at the thought of her and Madara in that room alone. She almost didn't notice Zetsu talking to her.

"And I'll also help you practice your dancing."

"Dancing!?"

Z had returned by this time. "Want to know a secret about Madara? He loves dancing. When Madara dances it's always a battle, but he loves to watch the other kind of dancing as well."

Zetsu cleared his throat before Z could go further. "He expects you to dance for him."

"He can expect whatever he wants. I'm not dancing for him...what kind of dancing are you even talking about?"

"Well, the type of dancing is ultimately up to you, but he's expecting some traditional fan dancing and some belly dancing."

"You are from Suna after all." Z added in.

"Madara always had a small soft spot for Suna. He thought that Suna was honest in its philosophy. The people were not afraid to put a value on anything and everything. He used to go there when he wanted time to himself. They didn't have time for sentimentalities, and you could buy anything if you had enough money."

"He also thought they had the best dancers," said Z. "He hasn't seen a good dance in ages."

"Yeah, I bet there's a lot he hasn't seen in ages." mumbled Temari. "You do realize that I'm not a professional dancer. Even if I did dance, there's no way I can live up to his memory of those times. Not to mention, I find it more than a little demeaning to shake my bare belly, among other things, in front of a man just because he wants to see it. I don't care who the guy is."

"Don't worry about it, Temari. We're here to help you. I'm sure you can do it."

"The problem isn't if I  _can_ do it. It's that I  _won't._ "

"Well tell him that yourself. He's waiting for his tea."

"He's already here? Fine." Temari picked up the tea-tray and in a sarcastically sweet tone said, "I'll bring him his tea and then we can have a nice heart to heart."

* * *

Madara's clone was sitting at the low table waiting for Temari to enter. Zetsu informed him of their recent conversation and Madara couldn't help but to find it amusing.

He knew she probably couldn't dance well but that didn't matter. The point of the exercise was to make her uncomfortable and to do something that she didn't want to. Madara wanted to make her put effort and time into something she was absolutely against. He would make her present herself to him.

Zetsu also gave him a small report on what they knew about Temari's history. She was the eldest child of the fourth Kazekage and the sister of the current Kazekage. She used wind, she had a weasel summon, and she was surprisingly good at infiltration. So good that her skill was kept a secret from all but her brothers. She was very good at going unnoticed. She was also the ambassador to Konoha.

None of that would help her here.

As for the tea, he was still reanimated therefore Madara had no need for food or drink. But he still found the idea of a tea ceremony relaxing. It was a way to meditate without meditating. He always felt refreshed afterwards.

Madara also didn't plan on staying in this state for too long. He was going to be resurrected not just reanimated.

Then everything would change.

* * *

Temari wanted her fan as she looked down at the tea-tray. She couldn't remember the last time she felt so nervous. She was used to everything being straightforward. A fight was a fight. But she had a feeling that she was about to fight Madara in a way she never had to fight anyone before, and she wasn't very clear on the rules.

She entered the room and found the screen shut. She placed the tray down and knelt to open the door. She began the tea ceremony and refused to look at him until she had gone through all of the actions and handed him his tea. Temari never did put much stock in tradition and ceremony in general. She felt that you should just pour the damn tea and drink it.

She glanced at the ceiling. She could still hear rumblings from the battle above. Clone or not, she still wished she could've poisoned him.

"Do you like your tea?" she asked, hoping to make it seem like she put something in it.

"The tea always tastes the same to me. Do you know why I actually wanted to do this tea ceremony?"

"Of course I don't. I know nothing about you." Temari desperately wanted to throw the hot water into his face.

"It helps settle my mind. To just focus on the task at hand and watch someone prepare my tea is usually calming. Watching you was frustrating. I'll forgive you this one time, but I won't be so understanding after this."

"What did I do wrong?"

"You only went through the motions. You didn't forget anything, but you seemed hurried. Next time I expect more from you." Temari rolled her eyes at him and made to get up. Madara grabbed her chin harshly and turned her head towards him. "I know what you and Zetsu have talked about, and I do not think you understand your role here."

Temari tried to turn her head away from him. He grabbed her face harder and pulled her closer to him.

" _I_  found you and brought you here. You no longer have family or friends. There is just me." He paused to let his words sink into her soul.

"You can decide what role I will play in your life. I can be worse than any demon your mind can imagine. I will make Shukaku look like a puppy compared to the things I will do to you. Do you understand?"

Temari could do nothing but look back at him. Her anger was smoldering inside of her and threatened to burst into flames. But she could sense that letting out her true feelings at that moment would be disastrous.

He smacked her before she even realized he had let go of her face. Temari didn't know slaps could be that hard.

He grabbed her face again. "You will answer me when I ask you a question. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Madara. I understand you." Temari muttered.

"From here on, it is Madara-sama, Lord Madara, or sir."

Temari couldn't believe it. She had entered some kind of nightmare. He threw her face back, and she quickly took the opportunity to take the tea tray to the kitchen. She put the tray down and leaned against the counter.

 _So that's it. I knew it when I saw those damned clothes. He wants me to be his own personal slave/maid/geisha person. I can't let him get away with this._ Temari used a cloth to wipe off the sheen of sweat that had formed on her face and put it on the tea tray.

She turned around and saw Madara sitting in one of the chairs at the dining room table. He was angled away from the table with one arm on the table while the other rested on one of his open legs. He looked relaxed while Temari found herself leaning away from him from over a 15 foot difference.

"Temari, come here." She stood up straight and walked over to him aware that she had to take smaller steps due to her dress. She knew the second he left that she was getting out of that damn kimono.

She reached to pull out one of the dining chairs to sit in.

"Did I say you could sit?"

Temari refused to look at him and instead looked to the side and placed her hands on her hips when she said, "No, sir."

"You have no chance of winning a fight against me."

"I know that."

"Good. I won't tolerate you trying to test any theories on how to take my life."

"You're already dead, and I'm pretty sure you're a clone. I don't have any sealing tags on me anyway."

"Yes, but I still won't tolerate it at any time. I will not use any dojutsu on you. You do not have to fear looking into my face." He laughed, "You're the luckiest person in this war. I'm not going to kill you like I'm going to kill those pitiful shinobi I'm fighting."

"Shut up! You're not going to kill anyone! They  **will**  seal you."

"I have already been sealed."

"What?"

"They can't tell the difference between my wood clones and me. So you are right. They will and have sealed me. It was just the wrong me. Perhaps you may be right about me not killing anyone. However, I wouldn't bet your life on it." He stands up holding the purple collar in one hand.

Madara begins to walk towards her and she starts to focus on the collar in his hand. She's determined to stay far away from him and it. She doesn't exactly know why, but she knows that she cannot let him put that thing on her.

She turns around to run away. Madara yanks her back using the collar. Her breath leaves her as her neck is pulled towards him.

"No!" she can barely speak. Temari struggled to get her fingers between her neck and the collar but Madara was choking her too tightly with it. Temari felt the pressure in her head build. She tried to kick him in the shins, or anywhere on his body, but her legs found nothing but air.

She could feel her neck straining against the collar. She was going to pass out soon. She tried to force her head back to give her fingers space in front of her neck and to hopefully headbutt Madara in the mouth. But all she hit was metal armor and the collar never gave any slack. Her vision started to tunnel and everything went dark.


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics are thoughts.

Temari woke up bent over with her head on the floor. She started to get up but something stopped her. She opened her eyes to see that she was bound. She still wore the pink kimono but nothing else about her situation was the same. Her ankles, calves, and thighs were tied together. The rope around her calves was connected to the rope around her thighs keeping her in a kneeling position. Each wrist was tied to the sides of her legs forcing her palms to lie on the ground.

When she tried to sit up she felt a pull on her neck and realized that she was wearing the collar and a rope went through the d-ring in front down to the ropes on her legs. She was stuck in a kneeling bow and she could lift her neck barely more than a foot off the ground.

"Zetsu! Z! What is the meaning of this?" The collar was on so tight around her neck that it actually hurt to flex her neck muscles or to swallow. She definitely wouldn't be screaming out their names again very soon. She was incredibly uncomfortable, embarrassed, and angry.

Zetsu appeared before her. "Yes Temari, Is something wrong?"

"I'm going to pretend you did not just ask me that question. What the hell is going on?"

"You're tied up, and don't worry about trying to cut those ropes with some kind of wind chakra blade. It won't work. But I also don't think you want to upset Madara more than necessary so just sit there and be a good little girl. It'll be over in no time."

"Why did he tie me up in the first place?"

"Z and I tied you up. He ordered it because of the little incident with the collar you had earlier."

"How long was I out?"

"Just about ten minutes. Not long at all."

"Ok, I learned my lesson. You can untie me now." Temari hoped her statement didn't sound as hollow as it was.

"No, I can't. Not until Madara says I can. I can ask him for you if you like."

"Please do."

"He says, 'No.'"

"That was fast. Did you just pretend to ask him?"

"Madara and I are connected. We can communicate almost instantaneously."

 _Well that explains a lot of my confusion. This Zetsu guy has been telling him everything about me. I have to be careful about what I do and say in front of him._ "OK, so what's going on in the war, Zetsu?"

"I'm back!" Z walked over to Temari and Zetsu with some kanzashi tinkling in his hands. "I just got you some more new clothes, Temari. I can't wait to see you in them. And I've wanted to put some of these in your hair since I got them. Now I finally can." He started sticking all kinds of flower picks in her hair while she tried to make it as difficult as possible. She could feel some of their tails dangling on the side of her head.

"Stop touching me, and stop putting that crap in my hair."

"I'm all done anyway. It's actually pretty boring out there. As far as Madara is concerned, he's pummeling your kage. Naruto's fight is progressing slowly but you wouldn't like where it's headed. As for the rest of the troops, they've started getting me out of their ranks, and they're all either still fighting reanimated shinobi or they're heading towards Naruto.

"None of it really concerns you anymore, Temari. No one up there but Madara is going to help you. I don't think anyone has even noticed you're missing."

_I'm not surprised no one's noticed I'm missing. Everyone's busy trying to stay alive. The only two people who really care about me are probably fighting some of the hardest fights of their lives._

"Can you untie me yet?"

"No."

"We really need to grow your hair out, Temari. At least it's nice and thick though." Z started to comb his fingers through Temari's ponytails.

"Stop touching me." Temari swallowed hard and painfully before she said what was on her mind next. Temari decided that if she could not fight them physically she could at least try to find out as much as she could about the enemy's plans. "If Madara does win…where will they send him next?"

"No one sends Madara anywhere. And  _when_  he wins, he'll go visit Naruto. It's where everyone else is going anyway."

"Madara is a corpse. Someone is controlling all of the reanimated shinobi and they have a plan for Madara whether  _he_ likes it or not." Temari thought about picking a fight over the idea that Madara's win was a given outcome but she just couldn't bear to argue and be wrong. She could only imagine the crazy jutsus he was pulling on her brother and the other kage. Not to mention his limitless amount of chakra on top of his knowledge and battle experience. It was a fight she wouldn't dare think about too much while being below all of the action.

"Why would someone who's dead want you, Temari?"

_Good question. Why would anyone want me?_

"He's coming back. We'll talk to you later Temari." Just as they sunk into the floor Madara's clone appeared in front of her.

Madara was standing too close for Temari to see more than his legs and she'd rather look down at her own thighs than strain to look at his knees.

Her stomach felt tight and she had a hard time placing her feelings. Temari had felt many things in her life including terror, panic, and embarrassment. This was a mixture of them all. She felt helpless. She was there kneeling at Madara's feet and she couldn't even look him in the face. Temari quickly decided that she would do her best to put on a front of confidence. In a voice that was less angry than she was and more steady than she felt, she asked him, "Have you defeated the kage? Is that why you came back?"

"Don't question my actions. I will do as I please and you will accept it. As for the kage, they are still alive and will be thoroughly defeated soon. I've decided to unleash destruction itself on them. They should feel privileged to see it before their death."

"Let me go be with my little brother. If you are going to kill him, I'd like to be there in his last moments. You must have had family when you were alive. Can't you remember what it feels like to lose them?" Temari didn't know much about Madara but she knew she would have to fight this man with emotions and reasoning. She would have to keep trying tactics until one of them worked and she started with sympathy.

"…"

"You can keep a clone by me if you're worried. I just want to see my little brother one more time."

"No."

"Is it likely that the Kazekage is going to die?"

"Most likely."

"...If I promise to do whatever you like without complaint would you spare him? I'll do whatever I can to save him."

"No, and you'll still do whatever I like. How you feel about it is your own concern. I have no desire to kill you, but I will hurt you. I am in control of everything. If I am willing to give you something I will give it to you. Don't ever ask me for something like that again. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Madara-sama. But-"

"Temari, I will control the world. Everyone's existence will get better with my will as their own. But my plan is not what everyone thinks it is. I will not live in my own genjutsu all the time; I will still act in this world. Depending on how I feel after this war, I may not even make the Tsukuyomi as permanent as I first thought. The people in this time seem exceptionally weak and it might not be needed.

"But you, however, will still have your will. You will stay in this world, but only for me. Deal with that however you wish. Everyone must deal with loss, but you are going to lose much less than everyone else. You are not as physically strong as some kunoichi I've recently met, but you may be much more defiant than I first assumed.

"It actually makes you more interesting, but it does nothing to change my demands of you. I am taking you on as my pet project. You are going to be my companion while I improve you. You're life from here on out will probably not be easy for you. I believe some women wouldn't mind this situation, but I probably would find no real interest in those women.

"Listen to me, Temari. There is no escape that you can make from here. You are here until I decide you can leave, and I have no desire for that."

Temari couldn't pinpoint exactly when angry tears began to fall from her eyes but she couldn't deny their presence. She felt pathetic and indignant. It took all of her strength to keep her head from bowing to the ground under the weight of his words and the pull of the rope.

"You are in your current position because you chose to defy me. I might decide to leave you like that for the rest of this battle. I don't think you have humbled yourself in front of someone like me, and I'm rather enjoying your experience."

He squatted down and lifted her head as far as it would go. "I can feel your emotions rolling off of you, and I'm reveling in it." He gently wiped a tear away with his thumb before abruptly standing up and disappearing.

* * *

Madara's clone with Temari disappeared as the reanimation jutsu was being released in the war.

Madara had expected this from the moment he talked to Kabuto through Lord Mu. He didn't expect it to happen so soon. He could see the kage were shocked beyond belief as he went through the hand signs to rescind the contract. He made it clear to them that he was here to stay.

He voiced his embarrassment about having to recreate his perfect Susano'o. The kage were already trying his nerves. They were so beneath him that he could actually play around with Temari during their fight. He had thought he wouldn't be able to even talk to her until after the war, but they were so weak that he could send clones to mess with her all he wanted.

He was already mentally over this fight. He had already proven his strength against them and now there was no real point in continuing.

Except there was Onoki. Onoki  _would_  be the one to not give up. Madara started to wish he would have killed that brat ages ago when he had the chance. If Onoki wasn't broken then Madara would have to continue. He would make sure they knew their place.

* * *

She wiped her eyes off as best she could on her knees. She laughed at herself and wondered what her brothers and friends would think of her now. Temari realized that this situation was going to require her to say things she didn't really mean and to do things she normally wouldn't do. She could play this game but it was going to be hard. If Madara thought that she would throw away her life and values then he was wrong. But if Temari thought she would get through this situation in tact, she was wrong too.

She called for Zetsu in a much more subdued manner than earlier. He almost appeared next to her instantly.

"When can you untie me?"

"I'll do it now."

"Thanks." She hated that her voice sounded so fragile. It always did after she cried. She made a promise to herself that no matter how angry or upset she got she would not shed another tear. She would not show her true self to these people.

Z showed up and helped Zetsu untie her. She reached behind her neck to take off the collar and found her fingers fumbling over the buckle. "Z, can you take this off for me?"

"That doesn't come off. It's locked on. It only responds to Madara's chakra."

Zetsu added, "We can replicate his chakra, so it will only respond to us and Madara"

"Can't you loosen it a little?"

Z answered, "No. It only comes off when you shower."

"But you won't be showering until you go to bed." added Zetsu.

"OK, well I'm pretty hungry." As she looked through the fridge and the cupboards she decided to ask Zetsu and Z some more questions about the war.

"So any new developments in the war?"

"Well the alliance is winning most of the battles but they're going to lose the war..."

"I'd like you to explain that statement."

"Well one of the re-animations rebelled against Kabuto and released the Edo Tensei."

"What!?" Temari almost dropped the bowl of instant ramen she had decided on.

"Yes, all of the reanimations have been destroyed."

"So does that mean Madara's gone?" She couldn't help but to sound more than a little hopeful.

"No, Madara defeated the jutsu. He's still reanimated but he no longer has anyone who can recall him. Now, he's practically unstoppable."

 _This is unbelievable. Why would anyone dare to reanimate someone as dangerous as Madara? We have to destroy him somehow. Ha! What am I saying? I can't do a damn thing. I haven't even seen anything other than a clone the entire time I've been down here._ She glanced up at the ceiling. The rumblings from above were background noise to her now and she barely noticed them anymore.

She sat in silence as Zetsu and Z watched her eat.  _Kamatari! Maybe I can keep trying to summon him here and then he can notify someone of my whereabouts and the information I've gathered. But he can't just appear before another person can he? He could run there but there's no clear way out of here. Maybe he could reverse summon me... But I would only return to where I was to begin with. Dammit! I can't use Kamatari in this situation even if I could summon him. Why couldn't I be held captive in a big tree house?_

Zetsu offered to clean up her ramen for her, and Temari accepted. Z also got up and went towards the entertainment room. Once he opened the door he motioned for Temari to follow him.

She noticed a music player on an alcove near the raised platform. Z walked over to it and beckoned her over. As he was instructing her how to work it Zetsu came in with some new clothes. Temari almost jumped for joy when she recognized her own clothes. He brought in the outfit she wore to the kage summit and her new fans.

They explained that she needed to practice her dancing.

"Madara wants you to have at least three dances ready for him as soon as possible. He wants to have a little celebration once he has some time."

"That bastard wants me to dance for him in celebration of possibly killing my family and friends? What if he kills my brother? He wants me to dance for him in celebration of killing my brother?"

"You shouldn't call Madara a bastard. I don't think he would like it."

"Well there's a lot about this  _I_  don't like. And I'm not dancing for that man. Especially if it means everyone I care about is dead."

"You can tell him that when you see him. He's coming down one last time before you go to bed. Those people were a part of your old life. Madara suggests you grieve for them now while he's not here. As long as you do your best he'll be happy watching. He doesn't care what type of dancing you do as long as you use the fans at least once. It's really not that hard Temari."

"And if I don't dance?"

"You'll have to find that one out on your own."

"Can you guys leave so I can change clothes?" She also couldn't wait to yank out her hair decorations.

"Yeah, we'll leave you alone. Go through the music and find some songs you like. That should be a good start. We'll check back in with you before Madara comes back again."

Temari went through the music choices more because the silence was beginning to get to her. Some of the songs were exactly what she was expected, those being mostly traditional shamisen and flute songs. But there were quite a few songs that really piqued her interest. Some songs actually seemed to be from her own listening inclinations.

Temari was tempted to just sit there and listen to music while refusing to practice a performance for that man. But she thought better of it. It would be much easier for her to figure out an escape if she wasn't tied up. It might also make it easier for him to give her information. She knew her best chance of getting out was to talk her way out of there.

_If I have to dance for this psycho I'm going to dance how I want and to the music I want. He'll just have to deal with it. He may think I'm doing this crap because he's making me, but I'm doing it just to gain his trust. As long as you know why you're doing it, it will be fine, Temari. You can do this._

Temari spent what must have been almost two hours dancing before Zetsu and Z came in.

"Can we see what you've done so far?"

"No."

"Don't be mean Temari. We are here to help you."

"I don't need your help. If Madara really wants me to do this crap then he'll get just that. When do I have to do this dance anyway?"

Z held up three fingers and pointed to each one as he said, "One for the current battle, one for the next battle, and an extra just in case. He'll expect them for when the battles are over."

"Go and wait on the couch while I get your things out of here."

Temari felt her anger growing again as she went out to the couch.  _How dare he treat me like some kind of prize or something? But that man does scare me. I'm not getting out of here anytime soon, and I'm going to have to come up with a plan. I need to start with boundaries. Madara thinks that he can make me do whatever he wants. He can if he uses force. There's no way around that. So I need to either get him to not ask me to do those things in the first place and/or not get him to use force if I refuse to do something. OK…how do I do that? I gain his trust. I make him care about how I feel._

Madara appeared before her and gave her a discerning look before sitting in front of her on the coffee table.

"Temari, did you have something you wanted to talk to me about?"  _Damn those zetsus._

"I had a few questions about…the dancing."

"Are you modest? Because if you are, I must tell you that your outfit tells me otherwise." Temari just smirked at him. She was used to getting comments about her outfits and none of them fazed her anymore. Her clothes were usually on the short side. She didn't mind showing off her legs as long as it was on her terms.

"No it's not my modesty that's giving me concern. It's my dignity. It's the fact that you want me to dance as some sort of victory prize for you. Do you have no empathy? I love my brothers more than anything and-"

"If your brother truly wanted his life he would have never stood against me. I am the only one who matters to you now."

"Or am I the only one you have?" Madara stood and slapped Temari so hard that her cheek turned a bright red. He latched a finger in a ring around her collar and brought her close to his face. Temari could smell the death that was still in him and she could barely breathe. Her hands instinctively went in front of her and tried to push him away. Madara's face twitched in self constraint, and he pulled her closer.

"Temari, I'm going to let you in on a secret. We are underneath the area where Naruto and the alliance are fighting me and Obito. I will be resurrected soon, but I won't be able to come back to you until everything is almost over. Cherish the time you have before that, because when I'm no longer dead my treatment of you may change drastically. Some of my senses are dulled in this state, and I don't want to waste anything before I can appreciate it the way I should. No more warnings after today. The next time I see you the rules will change."

Madara pushed her back on the couch. Temari almost flinched when she saw his arm move but there was something different. He gently rubbed her reddened cheek before turning away from her and disappearing.

Temari sat stunned on the couch for a few minutes before heading to the bathroom. She really wanted to get in a hot bath.

Zetsu stopped her at the door.

"Can I help you, Zetsu?"

"No, I'm here to help you. I don't want to wait for you while you're in there so I wanted to show you where you're sleeping." Temari followed Zetsu down the hallway and came to the last door in the hall. He revealed a dim room filled with a dark ambience. It was large but the ceiling was much lower than the rest of the cavern. It felt stifling to Temari.

"This can't be my room." The bed was much bigger than anything she had slept in and the linen was all black. The headboard and footboard were tall and made from a dark wood with Uchiha clan fans cut out of the wood. In the far corner was a large round shallow pit lined with carpets and filled with pillows and blankets.

"It's not. You don't have a room. This is Madara's room."

"There's no way I'm sleeping in Madara's bed."

"That's fine with me. But you do have to sleep in this room. Be sure to come straight here once you're done in the bathroom. I may or may not be here, so please just do it."

"Well I do plan on taking my time in that bathroom."

"Be sure not to use the bath house portion. That's not there for you. Just shower and leave. I will know if you take a bath instead of just showering."

"Whatever Zetsu, I'm just ready for this whole nightmare to be over. Maybe I'll go to sleep and wake up in my tent where I should be. Wait, before you go, can you tell me what's going on up there?"

"Overall the allegiance isn't doing too badly. They still can't beat Madara though."

"Can sealing him still stop him?"

"Well I guess he could still be sealed, but it would be incredibly difficult to do. And he would always remain a looming threat if unsealed."

"So he knew all along that he would beat the Edo Tensei limitations, didn't he?"

"Yes."

"But he's still dead."

"Yes."

"And my family?"

"They're still alive."

"Thanks for telling me, Zetsu. Tell Z good night. Oh and don't forget about this." Temari pointed to her neck and Zetsu removed her collar. She definitely would not remind him to put it back on.

Her pajamas and a towel were on the toilet, and she found all of her hygiene products already in the bathroom.  _Well at least they brought my own PJs albeit pajamas I never wear._ She showered and put on the purple nightgown shift and grabbed her Suna headband. The nightgown had thick straps and fell right below her knees.

She went to his room and decided that she was going to go straight to bed. She hated to admit it but the cool sheets felt really nice after her hot shower. She laid there in the dark with just a small light near the floor in case she needed to get up in the night. Now was her time to think. Who knew when the next time she'd have a moment like this would be.

 _I have to either get Madara to not ask me to do things I don't want to do and/or get him to not get mad at me if I don't do something he wants me to do._  Temari's hand unconsciously went up to her cheek.  _So far he's just slapped me a couple of times and tied me up. I really don't want it to get worse than that, but I might have to test him a few times. I'm going to have to learn how to manipulate this asshole. That means I'm going to have to negotiate with myself._

_I'm really going to hate this. But I will be able to live with myself if I swallow some of my pride and keep my mind straight. If I exchange too much of my pride for the chance to save my life, eventually I won't have much of a life worth living. If I exchange my pride for my life, the possible defeat of Madara and the Akatsuki, and the lives of my family and friends then it will be worth it. I just have to keep constant mental vigilance._

_Maybe he'll think that I've given in. That might be even better. If he thinks I'm a lot more docile than I am I might be able to manipulate him more easily. Perhaps I could even try to endear him to me. That's a dangerous game, but I'm already losing. I have to even my odds. Hopefully he'll be defeated. I have faith in my friends, but if he wins...I might be the only one able to stop him after the war._

_Who am I kidding? Temari and docile don't belong in the same breath unless there's a not in there somewhere._

Temari started to feel herself falling asleep.  _I hope I don't have to stay here long._  That was her last thought as she finally let herself go to sleep.


	6. The First Dance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bring up the Shinju tree in this chapter. I know that the manga says it blooms in 15 minutes, but in this story it will take longer. I think he said it because 15 minutes is about 4 episodes and 7 chapters in Kishimoto war-time and any longer would require its own filler season.
> 
> I don't know much about dance and music so just go with the flow in that section and try to visualize it. You will have to fill in some of the blanks on your own, but I include the music I'm thinking of. I have some of the moves timed to the song. Let me know if it would be helpful to include when in the song a certain thing happens. You know like a small (3:44) to indicate at 3 minutes 44 seconds she starts to do whatever.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any music by anyone for that matter. If someone else owns it, you can bet I don't.  
> And remember, this is all just for fun. Don't take it too seriously.

* * *

That night was the first of Temari's chronic restless nights. She regularly woke up every few hours from dreams she couldn't remember.

The smell of cooking eggs brought her from the bed to the kitchen. Zetsu prepared omelette rice for breakfast. It seemed that Zetsu and Z did all of the cleaning and if they wanted to cook for her too, she wouldn't protest. She thought about them possibly drugging her food, but so far nothing indicated that was likely. She would take her easy victories where she could.

She took a seat at the dining table and the zetsus sat across from her before informing her that her clothes for the day were now in Madara's room.

"Is there any way you could put a clock on the wall? Not having daylight is really confusing."

"That's on purpose, Temari."

"That's helpful. So what time is it?"

"It doesn't matter. You can change and practice your dancing again. Madara won't be down today and we want you to stay active." said Z.

"Is there a training room? No matter how much I train I'm not able to seal Madara, and it would definitely help me stay active."

"Just dance until you get really tired. The practice will make you better at dancing, and you'll use up your energy." followed Z. _  
_

She saw the argument going nowhere and went to change into her black kimono. There was no mention of the purple collar as Z produced her red sash, and Temari surely wasn't going to remind them about it.

She decided to go to the library first.

Temari found what she guessed was supposed to be her section of the library. The books were all about cooking, hosting, and other stereotypically feminine domestic things she never found very interesting. She wandered over to the other books. Most of them were about history. Some were genuine original first-hand accounts of battles and fights while others were books about politics, geography, and trade. If she couldn't train her body she might as well train her mind, and she began to take note of which books she wanted to read.

She caught sight of the shogi set and smiled to herself as she thought of Shikamaru. Then she frowned as she remembered her circumstances. For one, no one probably even knew for sure that she was missing. Secondly, she was also positive that she never ran through his mind.

Zetsu slammed the door open jarring Temari from her thoughts. "We have some news for you Temari."

"Tomorrow is going to be an important day. We expect the fighting will be over and then you can thank Madara for winning." Z stated as he followed Zetsu into the library.

"Tomorrow is an important day for you. Madara wants to celebrate his victory. I wouldn't mess up if I were in your place." stated Zetsu.

"I guess even dead folks like a party. Other than dance for this frea- Madara and probably serve some tea, what else is there for me to do? Does he want me to blow up balloons and hang streamers? Tell him to bring down some of the bodies and I'll paint the place red for him."

"He wants you to prepare some food. He likes inarizushi."

"He doesn't even need to eat or drink anything! He's dead!"

"Just do it...or don't. The choice is yours. But remember that his day of triumph is yours too."

"Yeah, yeah." she added unenthusiastically.

"Are you clear on what you need to do?"

"The dances and inarizushi, which I have never cooked before."

"Well after you finish dancing come and talk to us and we'll get your clothes ready for tomorrow. As far as the food, there are cook books in here. He may also want some other food as well."

"And don't forget that you'll be eating too." added Z.

"It will be his first meal in quite a long time. If you need something for the meal, just ask us and we'll get it."

* * *

For what could have been no less than 5 hours Temari first tried to kick and slice open every chakra resistant/reinforced door in the place again and then she danced.

She ate some lunch before heading back to the library to look at the cookbooks. She found one she liked and saw that inarizushi took a long time to make. She decided that it would be easiest to make as much as possible beforehand and just finish things up tomorrow.

She prepared lots of rice and put them in different bowls depending on seasoning. Temari figured that other types of sushi would go well with inarizushi. Everything was ready so she would just have to roll, cut, fry, and assemble things tomorrow. It took her about 4 hours to finish everything but she would only need about 2 hours to finish everything before Madara came.

She saw a few sake bottles and was about to add them to the tea and water she was going bring in but paused. The thought of an inebriated Madara alone with her in a room made her hide one bottle under the kitchen sink and pour the rest down the drain. She did not want a riled-up, drunk, all-powerful dead guy on her hands, and she doubted that even if he did want sake that one bottle would get him drunk.

On her way back to the library she saw Zetsu and Z coming out of the wall next to a locked room.

"Zetsu, Z, what's going on up there?"

"We still need to work on your dancing outfits."

"And that concerns what's going on in the war, so just tell me."

"I don't see how that makes sense; however, Madara has defeated the kage, and now he's fighting Naruto and The Allied Forces."

"Are the kage still alive?"

"Yes. They were practically dead, but they are now all somewhat recovered. You wanted to know if your brother was still alive, didn't you? He may not be alive for much longer."

"Why?"

"He has joined the fight with Naruto: a very bad choice."

"Gaara and Shukaku have had a bit of a reunion, but Madara will have all of the jinchuriki soon." added Z.

Temari knew she couldn't trust everything Zetsu said, yet she hated the confidence in his voice. His last statement sparked a thousand questions in her. She wanted to know everything about Gaara and Shukaku, but she realized that Zetsu was not good with details. The best way to get information out of him was not to delve deeper but to ask about many different things.

"What about the other Madara? Is he still alive?"

"His name is Uchiha Obito, and he's more me than him now."

"Obito? Madara mentioned an Obito yesterday. Who is he exactly? And what about the Allied Forces? How are they faring?"

"That's enough. We want to finish with you quickly so we can go back and watch." Temari was tempted to keep bugging them about it but she didn't want them to stop giving her any information at all.

"Since I have no way of telling the time and I don't know when to expect Madara, will you make sure I have enough time to get everything ready for him tomorrow? I need at least 2 hours for the food."

"Of course. Now about your clothes."

"Two of the dances are more traditional but I still need to be able to move. The third dance, as requested, is belly dancing."

"Well we're going to leave you alone for the rest of the night. Be sure to get some sleep."

"If you leave me a clock then I could know when it's getting late."

"Or we could just tell you when to go to bed." said Zetsu.

"We'll come back when it starts to get late. If you're not sleep by then, we'll let you know." Z and Zetsu merged with the floor and left Temari alone.

 _Tomorrow_ is _an important day. If he actually comes out of this victorious, the way I behave tomorrow is going to have a huge impact on our relationship. And that is the only thing I can control in order to get what I want. Even if he doesn't win, I still may have to talk my way out of here._

Temari continued to the library to think things out. She pulled a collection of battle accounts from before the hidden villages were established but she never actually opened it.

_This is probably going to be the last big battle of the war, but I can't hear anyone in my mind from headquarters so I must be pretty far underground._

_Everyone is up there. I just need to give them a signal that I'm down here. Maybe if I yell…I'm not even going to pretend to myself that would work._

_Maybe the roots in the ceiling could help me somehow. I can try to pull them out which might leave a hole I could climb through or at the very least cause a disturbance above ground. The problem is that no one may notice it if everyone's looking a different way._

_Maybe there is a simple way out of here._  Temari went out to the big room and looked at all the walls. She had tested the walls the first day and found nothing. She looked up towards the tall ceiling. The ceiling was about twenty feet high. She stood on the dining room table and created a subtle but strong whirlwind to bring her to the ceiling. She began to systematically pat the ceiling trying to feel for any irregularities that could lead to a way out.

_I still need to prepare for tomorrow in case this doesn't work._

_I need to appear as if I'm on his side. But I can't seem too eager or he'll get suspicious. If I make him think that I really believe that I have no one but him, he should buy my change of heart. He's so confident in himself he probably already thinks I've started giving up on my family and friends. But no matter how much I pretend to be with him, I will never betray them._

_I can just be pleasant tomorrow. He hasn't asked me to do anything abhorrent. Thank goodness he hasn't tried to... ugh, I can't even think it. Maybe it's a good thing he's dead. I might have to be worried about a living man's...desires..._

Temari's whole body shivered in disgust at her thoughts.

_What are we going to talk about? I'd better make sure that I have some background music playing throughout the day. It'll help us both feel relaxed._

_I'll ask him what he thought of his opponents. I can ask him about the music, the food, and my dancing... I can ask him about his plans! It won't even seem like I'm prying._

_He probably hasn't had conversation in years. He_  has  _been dead. He's probably feeling lonely and doesn't even realize it. That's probably why I'm really here. The old dead guy wanted to have someone to talk to after he puts everyone to sleep._

Temari envisioned a lonely Madara crying over his tea about not having any friends and couldn't help but to chuckle at the image.

"What's so funny?" Z's head unexpectedly appeared out of the ceiling between Temari's hands.

Temari's wind faltered and the table dropped halfway to the ground. "I was just picturing the look on your face when Madara gets sealed by my brother."

"It's time for bed, Temari. See you in the morning." She went back up to him and punched him in the face.

"You didn't have to make such a dramatic entrance."

* * *

By the time Temari went to bed Madara had forced Obito to fully revive him and he had become the shinju's jinchuriki.

Madara could feel every cell in his body surge with the power of the Sage of Six Paths. All he needed now was his left eye and his victory was practically guaranteed. On his way to Obito he coughed up the Benihisago and Kohaku no Johei, two of the sage's tools. One of which was used to seal away the Gold and Silver brothers. He didn't need them, but Madara appreciated history. As they fell to the ground he telepathically sent a message to Zetsu to take the tools to his underground armory.

Tenten recognized the tools as they fell on her two remaining teammates. Gai and Lee continued on as Tenten stayed behind. She wanted to take them with her. As she prepared a scroll to store them, two white zetsu clones appeared out of the ground.

Tenten jumped back and simultaneously released a volley of kunai on them.

"Just grab the items. We don't care about her." Zetsu yelled to Z as they both tried to dodge her attack.

Z was hit in the shoulder and upper thigh. He grabbed the Kohaku no Johei and quickly sunk back into the ground as Tenten started to unlatch her large scroll filled with weapons.

Zetsu quickly grabbed the Benihisago and barely dodged the thrown kunai and shuriken that followed.

When Tenten realized they were just going to flee she ran towards Zetsu and started to summon a weighted net. She flung it at him and would have had him if he hadn't merged with the ground at the same instant.

Tenten looked around until she was satisfied that they wouldn't return to the surface. She slammed her fist into her hand out of frustration. Not only was Tenten upset at having lost the tools she was also confused. The zetsu clones had no interest whatsoever in confronting her. She knew they would lose against her, but it didn't make sense for them to turn tail in a fight that was numerically in their favor.

She had no way of following them underground, but she would remember to mention this to someone when she got back to the troops.

Madara made it to Obito only to find that Obito had completely turned against him. Madara expected this moment. He knew that Obito was unreliable as long as Kakashi was alive, but a small part of himself was still hurt from Obito's betrayal. He knew that whether he won or lost that Obito would die.

He eventually killed Obito by forcing him to sacrifice himself for Kakashi and grabbed his left eye immediately after. Kakashi was so low on chakra that he could barely breath on his own. The only threats left were Naruto and Sasuke.

Naruto was revived through the efforts of the Fourth Hokage and some other shinobi while Sasuke was revived through a jutsu Madara thought no one knew but himself. The fellow calling himself Orochimaru had to die. Not only did he seem to know many jutsus, he was treacherous. Madara killed him the moment after Sasuke's revival. He cut his head off with Sasuke's sword. Team Taka and Kabuto managed to escape Madara's focus and only suffered minor injuries.

Madara lamented at the disgrace that was Sasuke. After Madara berated him for his weak mind that had been obviously manipulated by many, he resolved to kill this last Uchiha once and for all.

Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other before staring down Madara.

"I'm glad you finally came back, teme. I almost gave up on you."

"Shut up, dobe. I'm still going to crush you after we kill Madara. I'm the only one capable of turning Konoha into the shinobi village it was meant to be."

"Look, Sasuke, I'm not going to even start this argument with you right now. I'm going to be Hokage and you can be my right hand. But if we don't kill Madara there won't be an argument because there won't be a village."

Naruto and Sasuke look at each other in a superficially confrontational manner. Both know that if they make it out alive they will forever be friends and rivals. Both true to themselves first and then to each other.

"Seeing you befriend that pitiful excuse of a shinobi and jinchuriki almost makes me ashamed of the Uchiha name. Sasuke, this is your last chance. Join me or die. I will eradicate you from this earth, and your destruction will be so complete that not even your family will know you in the afterlife."

Dawn began to rise behind the two almost causing Madara to squint. Sasuke chose not to answer him in words. He knew his actions would speak for him. He activated his Susano'o and Naruto created a nine-tails cloak that was almost as tall as Sasuke's Sage Susano'o.

Madara chuckled as he cracked his knuckles. He thought that maybe this generation wasn't as physically weak as he first guessed. He activated his own perfect Susano'o and charged towards Sasuke first: man before beast. He looked forward to testing himself against one of his own kind in Sasuke. He was also comforted by the fact that if he did indeed lose that the Uchiha power was still the best. That only another Uchiha had been able to beat him in the end.

* * *

Temari woke up from the light in the room. She rolled over to see a smiling Z. She threw her pillow at him and grumbled, "That is going to give me a lifetime of nightmares. Thank you, Z."

"It's time to get the food ready. After that, we want you to shower and wash your hair. We'll help you get dressed back in here."

"Did he actually win?"

Z's smile did the impossible and got wider. "Zetsu's still watching, but Madara's victory is practically in his hand."

Temari knew that practically was not definite. She still held out hope that the alliance would pull out a victory. "What happened to Gaara?"

"He's still alive."

As Temari got out of the bed she mentally went over everything she thought about the night before. If she really wanted to get Madara to think she was on his side she would have to start acting like she was on his side. And she thought a real celebration wasn't complete without a cake.

She found a cake recipe and mixed it together. While the cake baked she finished the inarizushi and some of the other sushi rolls. She decorated the cake as best she could and topped it with fresh fruit. She finished the rest of the food and made it all look presentable on some platters before heading into the bathroom.

She took her time in the shower to relax and get her mind together. She examined the clothes left for her and realized that they were what you wore underneath a nice kimono. She found an off white skirt and wrap shirt with a stiff, light green collar that didn't have a closure. _  
_

Temari held the shirt closed and went to the bedroom.

Z got behind her and made sure the light green collar was low enough on her back. Zetsu handed Z a sash and he snuggly tied it around her waist followed by a bigger one.

Then he brought out what looked like a thin kimono. The collar was off white while the extremely long sleeves and skirt were a pretty light blue. Z tied yet another sash around her to keep the kimono in place.

Zetsu handed Z what looked like a very thick light lavendar scarf. He wrapped it around her collar and again tied it with another thin sash.

Temari was not used to wearing this much clothing, and she was ready for them to be finished.

"Temari, wrap your sleeves up so you can get them through this kimono." Zetsu pointed to the heavier kimono that Z was holding. It was a beautiful teal that faded into light purple around the middle with silver dragonflies. The sleeves were the same teal but had and purple and silver koi instead of dragonflies. The lining of the kimono was the opposite of the outside. The bottom was teal and turned into purple at the top.

"Isn't this kimono a little long?" Temari asked while Zetsu held it closed and Z tied another small sash around her lower down than the others.

"Oh no, it's just right. It's supposed to drag, it'll make your dance look prettier. It's also slightly open at the legs so it's easier to move in than a normal kimono."

"Be sure not to trip on it." suggested Z.  _Like I need another thing to worry about._ Z tied another small sash higher up creating a pouch of fabric.

"OK, Temari next is the main obi." They then tied on another sash and finally started on the obi. It was very thick and heavy, but Temari had to admit to herself that it was beautiful. It was difficult to tell if it was actually silver or light blue. Z and Zetsu took almost ten minutes tying it on. The bow alone was something to marvel at. It had many folds and resembled a fan on one side and a smaller bow on the other, with lavender beads somehow tied into it and hanging from it. They tied a pink sash above the obi and stuffed the bottom down but left the rest showing. A lavendar obi cord over the obi finished the kimono.

"Am I finally dressed? Because that was ridiculous."

"You're so funny Temari only one more thing." Z brought out an uchikake. It was even longer than her kimono and had a thick padded hem. It too was light blue and had white foxes in a silver forest with sparse rust colored leaves. When it was all on she noticed that the layers parted slightly in the front would definitely allow for more leg movement.

"Isn't this a bit much? No one even wears an uchikake for anything other than weddings anymore. I know he's a bit old-fashioned because he's...just old, but do I have to sweat because of it?"

"It's beautiful on you. Now, we're almost done, and Madara's almost due." Zetsu motioned for her to sit on the bed while Z got out a bunch of kanzashi. Z put a metal fan-shaped one with metal tassels in one ponytail along with a small group of purple and pink flowers. On the other side was a rather large grouping of blue and green flowers accented with pearls. It dangled down the side but it stuck out far enough to not actually touch her face. He finished it off by putting two thin short lavender ribbons around her top ponytails and two large long lavender ribbons around the bottom ones. The tails of which went to her mid-back.

"Now we're done." Temari got up and hardly felt like herself.

"What about my Suna headband?" She tried out a few of her dance moves and luckily everything worked out. "And how am I supposed to carry everything across the room in this? I'm definitely going to trip all over myself."

Z said, "You won't have to worry about that. Everything's ready now, so go and meet Madara and try to have fun."

"We're also keeping your headband for a while. You don't need it, so don't think about it."

Temari almost scoffed at the last remark but decided to let it be. She was going to have to let a lot of things go today. She walked in front of the entertainment room door and took more than a few deep breaths.

_I have to clear my mind. I've got to get him to trust me. I can do this._

Temari opened the door and then knelt to open the sliding door. She refused to look up at him until she entered the room and knelt to close the door. She stood up and finally looked over the room.

She let out a deep breath. It was the same room she practiced her dances in. It just had more food and one extra occupant. Temari looked at Madara and gasped when she saw his face.

Madara was not in his sage mode.

"You're not dead." She didn't know if she should feel relieved or not. He took a sip of his drink and didn't even acknowledge her presence. He was sitting at the table facing the stage area. She relaxed her shoulders, walked over to the end of the table closest to the door, and knelt to sit.

"Sit across from me. I want to be able to easily look at you. I also still need to put this on you."

Temari looked over to him and saw him holding the purple collar.  _It's just a stupid collar, Temari. Don't turn it into something more. Just let him put it on you and move on._

She noted that he wasn't wearing his usual burgundy battle gear and turned her back to him.

She resisted the urge to put her fingers between the collar and her neck. He did her no favors, and it was just as tight as the first time she wore it. "This is to remind you that you belong to me."

"I  _am_ a person. You can't just turn me into some kind of pet." Temari's fingers grazed the collar.

"Would it help you if I added a leash? I've tamed beasts far more ferocious than you'll ever be. I've done it less than 24 hours ago, so don't test me."

Temari took her seat across from him. "Why aren't you dead anymore?" Her words came out in an accusing manner she didn't mean them to have.

"I will sate your curiosity only because you didn't skirt around the issue. I am fully resurrected. I am no longer just reanimated. I forced Obito to perform the Rinne Tensei. I am also not a clone."

 _This changes everything. He can actually be killed now. If I can get him comfortable enough with me maybe I can_ make _him release me. I can't do anything too brash. I'll probably only get one chance and I have to get it perfect._

Madara noticed the effect of this information. Her posture straightened a bit, and her face slightly brightened. Madara knew she was thinking of a way to kill him and escape. He looked forward to it. He wanted to see what she would plan, and he wanted to punish her after it failed.

"Ahem, I made you some inarizushi. Would you like me to fix you a plate?" Madara barely nodded, and Temari put a variety of sushi on his plate. "This was my first time making it, so let me know if it's good or not. Same with the cake."

Temari placed the plate in front of him and asked if he would mind some background music. He shook his head once and Temari went over to the music player. She put on some traditional Japanese shamisen and flute music on a low volume. She knelt back down and noticed he hadn't eaten. "Is there something wrong with the food?"

"I am waiting for you."

"I didn't poison it or anything. There's nothing to even poison it with." she mumbled as she prepared her own plate. She had absolutely no appetite and just got one of each item. After she ate a piece, he finally began to eat.

"So…" she put her chopsticks down and looked over at his plate. "I take it we lost." She stared at his plate because she couldn't stand to see any sense of satisfaction on his face.

"Why would you think that?"

"Why else would I be all dressed up like this? I feel ridiculous. You've won the war and- and now you're having your party."

Madara looked at her for a while before saying, "You do not look ridiculous."

He thought she looked empyreal. The colors seemed to fit her perfectly. It was easy for a girl to be lost in so much clothing, but Temari seemed to have a demanding grace that the clothing only enhanced.

"I'm just not used to all this fabric."

"You may not have to worry about that for too long. No,  _we_ did not lose.  _We_ won; the alliance lost."

"Oh. Is everyone already under the genjutsu?" Temari chose to ignore his first statement.

"No, not yet. I have to wait for the shinju tree to blossom, then it will be complete. The blossom will reflect my will on the moon and into everyone else. I expect it will be a couple of weeks but no more than a month."

"So  _we_  haven't won yet, at least not completely. What happens if someone cuts the tree down or they sabotage the flower?"

"The Shinju has its own defenses. Destroying the tree is not the way to stop it."

"Then how could they stop it?" There was a long silence and Temari hoped that her question didn't seem too eager. She had to get him to believe she supported him. She looked up at him and she was locked in his gaze.

His eyes looked so alien to her. The color, the pattern, and their intensity were all too much. She tried to look down, but she was still trapped by his eyes.

Madara hadn't noticed her eyes before now. He found them radiant and dark at the same time.

He finally turned away and continued eating. Temari took a deep quiet breath and took a bite of the food she didn't want.

"How was the battle? Were your opponents worthy to face you?" Temari almost gagged at the blandishment, but she would do what was necessary.

"The Kazekage surprised me with his determination. There was also a strange-looking man in a unitard that really gave me a shock. He was much more powerful than I initially gave him credit for. I had to kill him, but he was...unique...I also had a nice dance with Naruto and Sasuke. They proved a real match for me in the end... I must admit that I regret having to kill the only other Uchiha left, but he died a good death. It seemed to affect Naruto more than me even..."

Madara paused for so long that Temari almost interrupted him. "He does not take people sacrificing themselves for him very well. A good leader understands he is more important than the individuals he leads. He may never understand that. He cried over Sasuke's body... I'm not sure if he will be able to lead what remains of the troops. I did manage to kill off their Hokage. She was an annoyance I am glad to be rid of."

Temari wasn't sure how she should outwardly react to this news. She was glad to hear that Sasuke came back to the light before dying, but that was the only new good news she could glean from this new information.

"So Sasuke and Tsunade are dead...What are The Allied Forces going to do while the tree blooms?" Madara looked at the young girl next to him. She truly was young. There was nothing she could do against him, and she still had hope. She was so harmless it was almost cute. Madara couldn't decide whether he should humour her or crush her hopes this moment.

"They will probably try to defeat my plan for the world. They are not only weak but misguided as well."

"They are just trying to do what they think is right." Temari told herself before that she would not betray her comrades and she meant it. She waited uneasily for his response.

"And what am I doing?"

"Well, if you still plan on putting people into your dream world, I think you're doing what you think is best too. Since you won and they lost, I hope that you're right." Madara assessed her for a moment. He saw honesty in her statement and decided to see if she was as earnest in her actions.

"I would like to see what you have prepared for me. Your fans are along the wall." Temari nodded and walked over to the wall. As she picked up the large black fan she decided that she would continue to defend The Allied Forces whenever she could.

Her mind shifted to the dance she was about to do. Temari was not a professional dancer but she knew how to move her body. She took what Zetsu and Z said about Madara's appreciation for dance seriously. Each dance would have to be more than just a dance with this man, and this dance was going to glorify Madara's win.

The thought of celebrating Madara made her a little sick and she almost tripped from the sudden onset of nausea. She took a deep breath to settle her stomach and reminded herself that she had to do this if she wanted to accomplish anything.

Her brother never assigned her deep-cover missions and this would serve as her personal test. So many times she told him she was ready, but forsaking a part of one's self was harder than it sounded. And it sounded pretty hard to begin with.

Temari took another deep breath and closed her eyes.  _Remember Temari, t_ _his is supposed to be a dance of triumph. Just focus on the dance._

[She chose to do a fan dance inspired by traditional fan dances to the untraditional song ["Passion" by the Yoshida Brothers](http://youtu.be/4qQL7srF3cs).

She started in a traditional bow with the fan closed in front of her and raised her head for about the first 20 seconds of the song. The song starts slow but it quickly picks up speed. Temari moves slowly and follows the simpler count in the song.

She slowly rises into a forward lunge, allowing for the kimono, holding the still closed fan in a lateral position pointing forward. She turns her head to each side while moving her free arm smoothly and gradually out to the side. She begins to smoothly and slowly open the fan. By the end of the first minute the music calms and she's still crouched in a lunge, the fan mostly covers her from her nose to her knee, and one arm is still straight out to her side.

She dramatically uses her eyes to look to each side before meeting his. She brings her back leg forward to stand up straight. The shamisen picks up again and she quickly flips the large fan in the air where it turns once and she catches it with the same arm behind her. It frames her body and she begins to do traditional footwork and hand gestures with the fan. She's moving at a more traditional medium pace against the fast music but the tempos find each other and it works.

Half way through the song the mood changes. She begins to do more tricks with the fan while increasing her speed and widening her gestures in opposition to the song. The kimono helps her movements seem graceful. She uses the long sleeves to accentuate the traditional gestures and moves. She begins to match the music's beat and stays with it while keeping her movements large.

She then does a quick succession of fan tricks to emphasize some of the dramatic beats in the song before going back to her unhurried pace. She ends holding the fan completely open with both hands and the fan leaning towards her before she gently closes it and kneels.

After a moment she rose and placed the fan back against the wall. She wished that she didn't have to go back and face him, but she had no choice.

She started to take off the outer robe before turning away from the wall when she sensed his presence behind her. She stopped moving and felt him take the uchikake off for her.

"Thanks." She continued to face the wall until she heard him sit at the table again.

They both sat there looking down. She looked at her plate. He looked at the robe he still held.

Madara made her dance to impose his control over her actions and reinforce her compliance. And if she did a laughable job or if she tried to seduce him, he looked forward to the chance to humiliate her.

However, Temari's dance was not what Madara had expected. He expected some shamisen music along with demure movements. Coy eyes looking away from him. A dance about butterflies or falling leaves. Instead he was confronted with fast new music and bold large movements. Her dancing had a sense of strength and poise he did not foresee. She looked like a warrior.

"Tell me about your dance. The one you just did."

"That was your dance. I made it for you." She looked up at him and found that he was still looking at the robe, so she continued, "From the bit of your fighting style I was able to see, I figured that you alone dictate your pace. In the middle of a battle you could probably still yourself and make things go how you want them to go. While everyone else is frantic, you would be more like a calm storm. That's why I often danced at a different, but complimentary, count to the music. And it's also why I used the black fan. I guessed that the fan symbolized your new world."

"I am glad you're not a fool." Temari wasn't sure how to take that last statement so she just said nothing.

"Are you aware of the Kyubi and the power it holds?" He started to trace the design of the robe with his fingers. "Yes, of course, you were quite familiar with the tanuki demon, the Ichibi. I have only met the Kyubi's jinchuriki recently, but the Kyubi and I have a long history. I am the only shinobi alive who is able to summon him and force my will upon him. He was a great feat and something I am still very proud of."

Temari knew that he was probably at the brink of sharing more about himself with her than he ever had with someone who wasn't his family, and she wanted him to keep going.

"Is that why there are foxes on the robe?" He looked over to her without meeting her eyes.

"You probably haven't heard all the stories I have about foxes, you coming from the land of the tanuki, but most magical foxes were thought to be white. There are many stories of foxes tricking men and playing on their desires. They are capable of both good and evil." After a moment of silence he pushed the robe aside.

Temari decided to not push the issue. She recognized the importance of what just happened. He was actually starting to converse with her. "Do you like the food?"

"It's fine." _  
_

"Do you ever want me to fix it for you again?"

"Probably."

She slouched a little. "Did you actually like the dance?" Madara's face had not changed since she entered the room. No frowns or slight smiles. She was having a hard time figuring out how he felt.

"Yes."

"Good. It's not like  _I_  had a choice, so at least one of us got some enjoyment from it."

"I enjoyed it. I'm sure the next two will be just as entertaining for me."

Madara reluctantly admitted to himself that he really did look forward to seeing her dance again. He was starting to see that perhaps there was more to this kunoichi than his need to put her in her proper place. He was beginning to question where her proper place should be.

"What are we going to do while we wait for the tree to bloom?"

"We are going to prepare for when it blooms. I am going to meditate and support the tree. You are going to learn how to live with me and to appease me." Temari felt a pang in her chest. She did not want weeks of  _this._ She felt an impulse to get up and run out of the room. She held it in and stood up.

"Madara-sama, I'm feeling tired. I'm guessing that this is lunch and we'll meet again for dinner. I'm not sure what time it is, but you can just have Zetsu come find me." She turned to leave the room.

"I didn't say you could leave. The alliance will not be an issue today, and I plan on spending time with you. We will finish here and then you will have a couple of hours to yourself before we meet again for dinner. I didn't realize that you were so feeble as to be tired from one dance." Temari didn't take his bait and returned to her seat.

"Fine." Temari seemed like a petulant little girl to Madara and his annoyance spiked. "Madara-sama, how does the tree protect itself? How does it stop people from just cutting it down?" Madara calmed himself and looked at her.

"I will not explain it all to you, but I have allowed the tree's roots to take chakra from anyone who gets too close to it. The tree is also infused with more chakra than anyone in this world has seen before and it will not be very affected by chakra based attacks. It is also far too resilient to just be cut down by an axe."

"I see. The Shinju is the Jubi, right?"

"In one of its forms, yes."

"Is the Jubi like the other biju?"

"In what sense?"

"Are you the Jubi's jinchuriki?" Madara gave Temari a strange look and was silent for a moment.

"I have allowed you to speak freely far too much. I admit that your voice is not as annoying as most women's voices but I still have my limits. I want to see your next dance."

Temari stood up and loudly mumbled, "I guess I was right, jinchuriki."

[Temari did the same type of traditional inspired dance to a song called ["Kakusei" by a group called Hayate](http://youtu.be/nerhpPdKImA). Kakusei in this instance could mean awakening.

She set up the music, grabbed the two silver fans and once more returned to the platform. She tucked one fan in her obi and bowed before standing with her back towards him. The music takes off from the start. She starts with the fan closed at a medium pace. She turned to the side looking up using her arm and the still closed fan to emphasize the direction. She continued with traditional movements. Her moves were regal, traditional, and uplifting for the first forty seconds. She remembered how she felt knowing that all of the reanimated kage were finally sealed.

Then the songs's tempo changed. She began to lower herself and turn in all directions. Her moves became slow and wary. She finally opened her fan and faced Madara. With another small change in the music she began to lift her fan laterally over her head. She did a few twirls with the fan as well as some more traditional fan moves. She tossed the fan and brought out the second one as it dropped ending with an open fan in each hand.

She moved her hands and feet at a moderately slow pace but kept the fans moving quickly with the slight aid of chakra. She used a lot of the stage and made sure to turn in all directions. She began to favor one fan over the other eventually closing the other against her hip. She continued to dance but would sometimes purposefully falter. She closed the other fan three quarters of the way and ended the dance facing Madara with a barely open fan held out towards the side of the stage.

She placed her fans against the wall and once again felt Madara's presence behind her. Temari started to turn around but Madara grabbed her face from behind effectively pinning her to him with his other arm loosely around her arms and waist. Temari calmly asked, "What are you doing?" Madara squeezed her and told her not to fight him.

"You didn't think that I would let you get away with saying that jinchuriki comment, did you? Not after it was clear I wanted you to be quiet."

"You never actually said to- mmph" Temari was more than surprised to have cloth stuffed in her mouth. She started to push out the foul-tasting wad of fabric when Madara covered her mouth with his hand.

"After seeing you dance, I decided to not stuff your mouth, but you have a way of making me upset. You will learn to speak only when I want to hear you. Keep your mouth open, and don't push it out." Madara moved his hand and tightly tied a thick cloth between her lips.

Temari let out a muffled frustrated sigh at her new situation but quickly stiffled it. Madara began to move his hands down her neck and lingered around her collarbone. He could feel her muscles tense at his touch.

"I haven't really felt another person since I've come back. It feels so...warm. You..." Temari had stopped moving. She stopped breathing. She was hyper-aware of his hands. She could feel every twitch in his fingers as one hand started to slowly move into the low dip of her collar down her back.

Madara stopped himself and pulled away from her. He relished in his body's new sensation while fighting, but he almost forgot about the other things that could make his skin dance and blood surge.

He brought her here to humiliate her for his amusement. A way to pass the time. Before now, Temari was someone to literally just keep around and terrorize. Now he was starting to see her as something else. He still wanted to degrade her, but he liked how he felt so close to her. Madara hadn't expected Temari to bring these feelings of excitement out of him.

"Go sit down. You can talk once I decide I can tolerate your voice again. And cut me a slice of that cake."

Temari's heart was pounding, but she kept her composure as she sat back at the table and cut him a slice of cake. She could only imagine how ridiculous she looked with a gag around her mouth cutting cake.  _I can't believe I've been reduced to literally quietly serving Madara. He seemed to get mad when I discovered he was the Shinju's jinchuriki. I probably wasn't supposed to figure that out. All right, Temari, you just have to be a bit sneakier. I have to stay away from too obvious questions about his possible weaknesses._

"This is really good. I don't like the frosting, but I do not think I would like any frosting. I would like you to have a dessert always available if I ask for one." He looked over to her. "Do you understand me?" He could see a flash of what looked like annoyance go through her eyes before she nodded.

He finished his cake and looked back at her. He almost smirked at the anger conveyed by her eyes and clenched fists. "It's no use being angry. We all have to deal with life's little ignominies. Yours are just going to be more numerous from now on. If I were you, I would start getting used to the feeling. Don't Suna shinobi go through some form of emotional training? Use it now."

Temari almost didn't stop herself from slamming her fist on the low table. "Hmmpfh."  _I don't think they covered dealing with crazy ex-zombies. OOOHHH I could kill him now and risk being stuck down here I'm so angry!_

"It is 2 o'clock, and I am done with this meal. Zetsu will come in and wrap all of this up for lunch tomorrow. You can figure out what we'll eat for dinner in the meantime. I'll expect it around 8. You didn't know before, but I do not like leftovers. Prepare accordingly."

Temari's hands flew behind her head to untie the cloth. "Stop. You have nothing to say until I see you again. Keep it on, or I will have even more fun with you later."

Temari stood up as angrily as she could and gathered herself before proudly raising her head and exiting the room.


	7. Unaccounted For

Gaara flew on his sand away from the dawning sun over the quickly erected encampment. He was proud of the resiliency of the troops. They had practically lost the war, but they were still pushing on. He then looked up at the towering Shinju tree, a constant reminder of what was to come if they failed, and remembered all they had to lose.

He spotted the large tent that was serving as headquarters and lowered to attend the first meeting of many for the day. He looked over the remaining kage. Tsunade was no longer with them and Onoki was so injured that he didn't even complain about being carried in on Akatsuchi's shoulders. In addition to the remaining kage were Mifune from the Land of Iron, Kurotsuchi, Darui, C, Shizune, Sakura, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Kakashi who was laid out recovering on a stretcher. Everyone sat around a large oval table in the center of the tent. A map was laid across it and other than an almost bare stand-alone bulletin board the tent was unfurnished.

Gaara was the last to enter. He acknowledged everyone and felt Baki and his siblings' absence. Baki had stayed behind in Suna. Kankurou and his division were on their way to the encampment. They would meet with Sai to use his birds to get here as quickly as possible.

However, Temari had not tried to contact him yet. They were just beginning to get things organized and that was the reason for this meeting. It was easily possible that news about the meeting hadn't reached her or that she was just busy with something else. Gaara couldn't fathom anything that she was doing that would be more important than this meeting, but he trusted her judgment.

Onoki started, "I know that no one is in high spirits, but we have to do our best to keep morale up. There will be time to properly mourn our dead once things have settled, but first we need to reorganize, re-strategize and cut that damn tree down."

Gaara quietly stated, "We all agree with you, Onoki. But before we try to cut anything down we need to know where we stand and where we're going."

A stood up, "That's the purpose of this meeting. Tsunade is no longer here, so let's start with the medical division. Shizune, please begin."

Shizune stood. "Yes. The medical division is doing better than expected. With the loss of Tsunade there is a great reduction in our ability to heal large numbers at once during battle, however if that situation presents itself Sakura and Katsuya will do the best they can. Most of our resources are going towards healing the injured. Many are suffering from severe chakra exhaustion which will mostly just take time to heal. We are also making sure that our elite ninja storage scrolls are all accounted for as well as storing anyone else who has died. "

A ensured her, "We know how hard it must be for those of you from Konoha, and we appreciate your professionalism."

Shizune bowed quickly before sitting, "Thank you."

"It will save us time to save the individual division reports until later after they report to Gaara. Otherwise, Gaara what do you have to add."

Gaara clasped his hands in front of him and looked more solemn than usual. "I'll have more to add later. I do have some tasks for our division commanders, but I'm wondering what we should do about Kakashi."

"What do you mean?" asked Mei.

"Kakashi was designated as the next Hokage after the incident with Danzo. Until Konoha has a chance to regroup and meet with their council, I think we should treat Kakashi as the acting Hokage. Are there any objections?"

Everyone turned to the many shinobi from Konoha. No one spoke up as they all looked away from the table and towards the ground. Naruto finally raised his head and said, "Kakashi-sensei has my support." This seemed to be what they were all waiting for and everyone else instantly looked like a problem was resolved.

"I don't know if I'm actually able to be Hokage at the moment. I can hardly stand."

"You will regain your full strength in a few days at most. I think we all saw that you were pivotal in this battle, and you're the last Sharingan user left in The Allied Forces." Sakura informed him.

Shikamaru added, "I don't think anyone will have any sufficient objections especially because it's just temporary."

"OK, I accept this responsibility until we are able to return to Konoha."

"Let's get down to business. We need to come up with a strategy." yelled Onoki.

"What have we tried on the tree so far?" asked A.

Onoki answered, "We know that trying to attack the roots is useless because there are too many and they grow too fast."

"They also literally try to suck the life out of you." mumbled Shikamaru.

"Right, so nothing that takes too long at a short range." stated A

Naruto looked up, "What about my Rasenshuriken? I don't have to get close and it will obliterate it."

"Couldn't that work? It is a tree so it can't dodge quickly. It also can't throw those beast balls like the animal form. I think we should try it." said Sakura.

Mifune quietly asked, "What if it doesn't work? Should we have back-ups ready or wait and come up with something  _after_  it doesn't work?"

Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders and said, "More theories and strategies won't hurt us. How long do we actually have before the flower blooms?"

Gaara said, "We're not sure, but I think we have at least a couple of weeks. I heard Madara say something like 'Enjoy the next few weeks; they will be your last.'"

"I heard him too." added Naruto.

"So if we strategize for a week we'll have at least a week to try things out. Maybe even more time if it's anything like a normal plant." said Shikamaru.

Kakashi looked towards Shikamaru, "Shikamaru, at some point talk with Ino and get her opinion on this plant."

Mei asked, "Onoki, what about your dust techniques? Shouldn't that do something to the tree?"

Onoki shook his head. "It should. But we are talking about the Shinju tree here. This tree is not going to go down easily or without a fight."

Kurotsuchi stood up to emphasize her point as she stated, "Yes, we need something other than just attacking the tree."

"We have to get to Madara." agreed A.

Mei interrupted, "We don't even know where Madara is."

A countered, "We can get all of our sensory types left on that job. We have to find him."

"Madara is probably holed up in an old Akatsuki base." said Onoki.

Kakashi asked, "What about Kabuto? He might know something. Karin Uzumaki also has a unique sensing ability."

"We have to find both of them then." said A.

"What are we going to do if we can't destroy the tree?" asked Mifune. No one had a good answer for him so no one answered. They all looked to one another hoping that someone had a solution until Onoki spoke up.

"I don't think now is the time to discuss that. We can all think about it, but we should be focused on how to win not how to deal with losing."

Kakashi added, "I agree. We have to focus on our victory. We also can't have the troops thinking about defeat. They have to believe we have some sort of a plan."

A forcefully stood up, "Enough. Gaara, meet with the division leaders next. Kakashi, I think at some point you need to meet with your Konoha shinobi. You and Onoki also need to rest and heal. I want both of you to get medical attention straight from Shizune. Mei and I are going to take a tour of the encampment and try to contact the Daimyos. Mei, can you keep Chojiro with them instead of having him meet you here?"

"Chojiro's a good boy. I'm sure he can handle it." said Mei.

"Everyone is dismissed." A along with Mei and Onoki on Akatsuchi's shoulders exited the room.

"Everyone who is not a division leader is welcome to stay. Shikamaru I will need you and a top Yamanaka here. C, can you please stay as well. I believe that you are a sensory type, correct?" Shikamaru nodded and left the tent.

C looked towards Gaara, "Yes, Kazekage-sama."

"Good. Does anyone know where Kitsuchi is?"

"Yeah, I'll go get my father." Kurostuchi said already half-way out the tent.

"If Aoba Yamashiro is alive bring him here. Can one of you do that?"

"He is alive. I can go get him."

"Thank You, Naruto." As Naruto left Kankurou entered. He looked around and acknowledged everyone before going to his brother. Kankurou's face did not reveal the relief he felt upon seeing Gaara but the pat on his brother's shoulder in greeting gave Gaara the message.

"Gaara, sorry I'm late. We didn't run into Sai for quite a while. What did I miss?"

"I'll fill you in later." Gaara waited a few minutes and when everyone except Shikamaru returned to the tent and the meeting began. "I would like to congratulate you all on a fight well fought. This has been an incredibly short war, but also an incredibly difficult one. Not just physically but psychologically as well. I had to face my father. I can only imagine which other resurrected shinobi others had to face." Kankurou's eyes squinted in thought at the mention of his father. He definitely had a lot to discuss with Gaara.

Shikamaru entered with Ino and Santa Yamanaka. They nodded to everyone as Gaara continued.

"Everyone needs to account for everyone in their division by 10am tomorrow. That will be our next meeting. Kakashi, I would like you to stay the leader of the Third Division but could you please appoint someone as your proxy and inform me tomorrow. Naruto, until then, could you cover Kakashi's duties?"

"Uh…yeah, Gaara, no problem." Naruto straightened his back. He wasn't listening well before and realized he would have to from then on.

"We also need to set up a recovery team for those who are missing."

"Gaara, shouldn't we figure out if anyone's missing first?" asked Kankurou.

Gaara answered, "Yes, but we should have a team ready to deploy tomorrow after our meeting. It will save time. Kankurou, I want to ask you to lead this team, but we may need your division if we locate Madara. Does anyone have any suggestions?"

Kakashi said, "I think Santa Yamanaka would be a good person. It will only be a temporary division and then afterwards he can join the sensory division or come back to the Third."

"Any other suggestions?" Gaara looked around at everyone and ended on Santa. "Santa, do you accept this appointment?"

"Yes, Kazekage-sama."

"Collect a team today and have them ready to leave immediately after our meeting tomorrow. Inform them that this will be a temporary division and they can return to their original assignments after it disbands." Santa nods his understanding.

"Aoba Yamashiro, would you accept Inoichi Yamanaka's former position as head of the Intelligence Division?"

"Yes."

"Any objections? Good. Ino Yamanaka, you were able to communicate in a manner similar to your father. Would you be able to continue doing this?"

"Yes, Kazekage-sama."

"Ms. Yamanaka, please begin reporting to both Mifune and Aoba. C, will you accept Ao's former position as captain of the Sensor Division?"

"Yes, Kazekage-sama."

"You and Aoba will work together. As soon as your divisions have been established begin looking for Kabuto, Karin, and Madara. I would imagine Kabuto and Karin will be easier to find so start with them.

"I'll be sure to notify the other kage later today of everything we decided. If there are any objections, I'll let you all know. Along with everything I've given you to do I would appreciate it if everyone also thinks about possible ways to win this war. Are there any questions? Then I will see you all soon."

As everyone began to leave Gaara quietly asked Naruto and Shikamaru to stay behind. They both sat back down. Naruto looked down at his hands while Shikamaru just seemed tired.

"Shikamaru, thank you for all you've done. A lot has been laid at your feet and you've accepted it all. I know you're still suffering from chakra depletion and the death of your father, so I want you to just focus on our strategy. I will account for everyone in the Fourth Division. Please do what you do best tonight."

Shikamaru didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything. He scratched the back of his head and gave Gaara a deep nod.

"Naruto, I know you want to be the Hokage, but I hope you understand why I suggested Kakashi. I've noticed how you're feeling and I want you to know that I have confidence in you. When you get back to Konoha I'm sure you will have a good chance at being the next Hokage."

"Gaara…" Naruto lifted his head and they all saw his tears. "I failed everyone. So many people died...I DIED! I'm afraid everyone's going to resent me. This war was to protect me, and I couldn't even protect them."

"Naruto, you will be the best hokage Konoha has ever seen. I'm sure of it. Everyone believes in you. I do not have many friends, and I do not know what to say to comfort you; however, I will always be your friend. You can always talk to me. I will listen and be there for you."

Shikamaru sighed, "We all believe in you. This war was not just to protect you. It was to protect everyone. We were all at risk. I don't want to die yet, but I would to protect you. I almost did. I'm not going to sit here and convince you how I and your peers feel about you. You just need some time to process everything. Why don't you go talk to Hinata?"

"Why Hinata?"

Shikamaru groaned, "It's good to know that whatever you go through, you'll still be Naruto."

"Huh? Shikamaru, you never make sense."

Gaara asked Naruto, "Are you feeling a little better?"

"Yeah, but I think I am going to talk to Hinata if Shikamaru thinks it'll help. He's a genius so he should know." Kankurou poorly stifled a snort and looked towards the ceiling to avoid everyone's gaze. "I should talk to Sakura too. I'm sure she's upset about Sasuke."

Shikamaru looked at Naruto one last time before starting to stand, "Jeez, Naruto…Gaara, is that all you wanted to say? I'd like to take a nap."

"No, actually there was something else…Shikamaru, have you- have you seen Temari?" Kankurou's and Shikamaru's eyes widened simultaneously. Kankurou noticed she wasn't at the meeting, but she also wasn't a division leader. He didn't realize she was actually missing.

Shikamaru dropped back into his seat. "No, but I haven't seen a lot of people. It doesn't mean anything. If I do see her, I'll send her straight to you. If it's urgent I can ask Ino to send out a message-"

"No. As you said, there are many people who we haven't seen. Informing a lot of people that I'm looking for her would just make her upset. Thank you, both of you."

Kankurou could barely contain himself until Naruto and Shikamaru left. "There's a lot you need to tell me, Gaara."

After Gaara filled in Kankurou on what he missed at the earlier meeting, Gaara set out to account for the people in his division while Kankurou began searching for Temari.

* * *

Temari couldn't believe her life. She had a foul-tasting wad of cloth stuffed in her mouth and a tight gag keeping it in. The fancy kimono she was forced to wear was making her sweat and the extremely tight collar around her neck was unbearable. She almost ran into Z on her way from Madara.

"Why Temari, I love this new look on you. Would you like a cloth that matches your outfit? Then you'll look really cute."

Temari growled and punched Z in the face. She stepped over him and went towards the library. "Ow, you didn't have to punch me. It's not  _my_  mouth that got you in your present situation." He stood up and followed her to the library. "Come with me so we can get you out of that kimono."

She changed into her black kimono with a red sash and took out the hair ornaments. "I put a few cookbooks in the kitchen for you. When you're done cooking, you'll shower and then change for dinner."

Temari went out and unenthusiastically browsed through the cookbooks.  _I have to get out of here. I can't believe that I'm trying to figure out what to cook Madara for dinner. Is this what I have to look forward to for the next few weeks, figuring out what to feed him and how I should dance for him? Is this what I have to look forward to for the rest of my life, my world revolving around_ HIM _?_

_Isn't this exactly what I wanted to avoid in my life, being someone's…? I can't even call myself a housewife. Thank goodness I can't call myself a housewife. But what am I? A slave? Some kind of servile companion?_

Temari threw the cookbook in front of her as far as it would go and brought her hands to her head.  _OK Temari, get yourself together. This is war._   _While my comrades are up there fighting, I'm down here fighting. I'm just fighting in a different way. I'm fighting by…cooking this man's dinner and dancing for him._  She slammed her fists on the table and grunted.  _I am_   _stronger than this! It's not like I don't cook at home. This is no different..._

 _This is completely different. No one forces me to cook back home. If anything,_ I _force Kankurou to cook for us. He does eat the most. I miss them so much. They wouldn't even recognize me like this._ Temari rubbed her eyes, cleared her head, and decided on tonjiru for dinner. When she finished, she called for Z to remove her collar and went to shower.

Cooking had surprisingly occupied her mind enough to have a calming effect on her. She tried to do the same in the shower but washing her body only reminded her of the belly dance she would have to do.

Temari had never danced in front of a man before today. She thought back to when she learned how to dance. Her father had forced her to take ballet to give her more grace. It was because of ballet that she learned how to belly dance.

The classes were full of civilian girls and, though none of the girls actually liked her, she was always invited to their parties and sleepovers. Their families invited her with the hopes of either gaining her father's favor or of not offending him by excluding his daughter. Either way, Temari got invited, and Baki always forced her to go. He thought she needed to socialize with other females.

At first she was miserable. Everyone would cater to her and be extremely polite. Then it somehow morphed into them just ignoring her. She would end up sitting at a table in the back of the room waiting for an appropriate time to leave. That is until one family hired a professional belly dancer for their daughter's twelfth birthday party. All of the parties had belly dancing but not usually a professional.

Temari remembered all of the girls and their mothers dancing and having fun. They formed a circle and each took a turn in the middle. The hired belly dancer went around showing them new moves and helping with their old ones until she noticed me in the back of the room. She walked over and grabbed my hands. "What's wrong? Are you afraid you can't dance? Come on, that's why I'm here." Before Temari could even get out an answer or protest she was pulled out of the chair and thrust into the circle.

She tried to leave, but the girls delighted at the chance to embarrass the Kazekage's daughter. If she got mad at them and told her father, the girls all figured they could just blame the hired dancer. Thus Temari found herself trapped inside an impenetrable circle surrounded by laughing faces and a persistent woman whose hands kept going to her hips.

She had watched them all dance many times before and figured that she could do a quick move or two and then crawl back to her corner. Unfortunately, she wasn't as bad as everyone expected and they encouraged the professional to give her more help.

Ever since that party some of the girls took it as their mission to not only somehow force Temari to dance with them, but to also take pleasure in deriding her moves. Temari figured the best way to get back at them was by being better than them. What could be more upsetting than being outshone by the girl you hated?

Temari would sneak and practice her dancing when everyone was out of the house. As far as she knew, only girls danced this way and she didn't want her brothers, Baki, or her father catching her.

Temari almost laughed at herself as she remembered the satisfaction she felt from showing those girls up. Then she remembered who she would be dancing in front of this evening and any good memories she had were squelched.

She dried off, put on the bathrobe laying out for her and fixed her hair. She entered the bedroom to find Z putting out some clothes for her.

"Hi Temari, let us know when you're dressed. We'll come back in to make sure you're ready. I'll change your gag now though." He moved behind Temari and removed her wet gag. He gave her a wad of purple cloth to put in her mouth and tied a black cloth around her head to keep it in place. "You're going to look so cute." Temari gave him a look that could cut and pushed him out the door.

She put on the long dark lavender cotton gypsy skirt and pulled a similar black skirt over it. The top was a black demi-cup bra decorated with many silver charms and coins. There was a large silver amulet hanging from the center with small chains dangling from it. There were chains that looped from the bra and hung on the side of her torso, and those chains had a few long charms on them too. She squirmed as she waited for the metal to warm to her body temperature.

She tied a wide ornate purple and silver sash around her hips. Long strings of fringe hung down to her calves and were interspersed with shorter multi-colored tassels and charms. As she opened the door to leave, Z and Zetsu burst through carrying a lot of jewelry and dumped it all on the bed.

"Now we're going to finish you off." Z bent over and started gathering her skirt and hiking it up.

"Mm mmm!" Temari tried to back away from Z but Zetsu held her in place by her shoulders.

"We're just making it easier for you to dance." Z stuck the gathered part of her skirts in her sash and waistline and created an extremely high slit over her right leg that revealed itself when she moved.

"Hmph."  _I'm pretty sure this is not going to make it easier for me to dance._

Z attached a couple of wide ornate silver cuffs around her upper arm that had looped chains hanging from them similar to her top. Zetsu started putting a headpiece on her with a large ruby in a flat diamond-shaped ornate silver setting. Curved silver metal netting came from the sides of the diamond and connected in the back. The top of the diamond-shaped setting was held in place a by a small metal chain that ran along the center of her scalp to the back of her head. He then placed large fake purple flowers in her ponytails.

Z was putting numerous silver bracelets on both of her arms and wrists when Zetsu grabbed one of her ears. "Hmm."  _I am so sick of these people touching me._

"I'm surprised your ears are pierced."

Zetsu held up a pair of turquoise teardrop earrings before pushing them in her ears. "Hauu!" She tried to yank her arm out of Z's hands but he had a surprisingly strong grip.

"Don't make a scene, Temari. We're almost done. There are just a couple more things."

Temari groaned and pushed Z away. He clucked his tongue as he grasped her hand. "Don't get tired of us just yet. You still have a long, long time with us." He placed a ring on each finger that had a thin chain connected to a large flat pearlescent stone that lied on her hand. Two small chains came from the stone and connected to a silver cuff bracelet with matching stone inlay. He let her hand go and went to place one on her other hand.

Temari moved her hands to test the reach of this strange bracelet and found that even though it didn't impede her movement it was distracting. Every time she moved her hand or even a finger she could feel the give and take of the little chains.

Z then bent down and grabbed her ankle so suddenly she almost fell over. He put a pair of matching silver cuff anklets with more of the pearlescent stone inlay. She was thankful that the anklets weren't the type with little bells on them. She already made a little noise when she moved from the other metal on her and she didn't want bells to add to it.

"Now you're ready, Temari. It's almost 8 so just go in."

Temari walked out of the bedroom and felt bare. She felt decorated, and all of the feelings she had earlier before cooking dinner came flooding back. She started taking deep breaths and paused in front of the outer door of what she deemed the entertaining room.

_You can do this. No matter what he does to you, you will always be Temari, a person. I am not his doll or his toy or…his. I am me. Even though I'm doing the things he wants me to do, I still have my own agenda. I hate him. I hate that I have to do this…Think of the war. What is your mission? My mission is to defeat Madara, stay alive, and get out of here._

* * *

Kankurou and Gaara were both noticeably upset when they met each other that evening. Gaara had not only learned Temari was in fact missing, but that many people were also missing. Kankurou was upset because no one seemed to know anything about Temari, and he couldn't understand how anyone could  _not_ notice his sister.

The last time anyone remembered seeing her was when they were still fighting the Edo Tensei shinobi. Matsuri remembered seeing her fight Madara along with the rest of their division. Gaara remembered seeing her right before the kage began to fight Madara. Kankurou only found one person who remembered seeing her soon after the kage and Madara began battling but nothing after that.

"Have you talked to Ikuo? He's the one in charge under Temari." advised Gaara.

"I did, but I think you should talk to him. There was something about what said that caught my attention. He said, and I quote, 'I don't know where Temari went.' Who said she ' _went_ ' anywhere? Not to mention everyone else was confused and surprised that I was asking about Temari, but he almost seemed to be expecting me. I think he knows more than he's telling."

"Kankurou, that doesn't make sense. Why wouldn't he tell us everything we need to know? Do you think he harmed Temari?"

"I don't think he could touch Temari if he tried his hardest. I just think that he knows more than he's saying. Maybe he saw her hurt or something and didn't help her. Maybe he let her die. But he knows  _something._  I'm almost sure of it."

Gaara did not look forward to intimidating another village's shinobi into giving him information about his sister. He would have to figure out a way to handle Ikuo, but in the mean time, he had a lot of other people to find as well. "Tonight we'll go through the medical scrolls to cross-check my missing shinobi list. Then tomorrow you're going with Santa's recovery team to find Temari and bring her back. Let's just pray she's not in a storage scroll somewhere or worse."

* * *

Temari deeply exhaled and knelt to open the sliding door. She could smell the soup she cooked and stood to walk to the table but stopped. Madara was standing before her with his arms folded. The oppressive power he emanated still managed to startle her.

His eyes slowly shifted down from her face and she could feel the heat rise to her cheeks. Her hands twitched at the impulse to cover herself but she stopped them. Instead, she proudly raised her head and straightened her posture. She had nothing to be ashamed of and she would not let him turn her into some blushing little girl.

Madara took her in visually and sent Zetsu a telepathic message to procure more belly dancing outfits. He liked them on her. Her body was much better than he expected. She was clearly toned but she looked soft in all the right places. Madara began to wonder how soft she would feel as his eyes went from her chest to her abdomen.

Temari struggled to keep her breathing even and to not show that she felt Madara's gaze upon her. He unfolded his arms to reveal the purple collar in his hand. Temari knew he wanted to put it around her neck and started to walk over to him. The subtle change in his face as he saw her leg come from beneath her skirt would have gotten a swift kick from Temari in any other situation. But she knew a kick at Madara would not be worth the anger that would come after.

He kept his distance as he tightened the collar and removed her gag. "Don't make me use this again. Dance and then we'll eat."

It had been so long since Madara had seen a girl belly dance that he didn't really care if Temari was good or not. He did care about her effort, and he expected much from her in that regard.

He also realized it had been a while since he could look at the female form for as long as he pleased. Maybe things would have been different in the shinobi world if he had left his own blood legacy in the world. But leaving a legacy admits mortality, and Madara wasn't ready to consider a true death in his first life.

He watched Temari walk to the music player then over to the platform. He could feel her tension. The Suna girls he remembered had always been sweet, cheerful, and a little guarded. He acknowledged they also could have been that way because they were hoping that a notable Shinobi from a fertile land would come and take them away as his wife.

He tried to think back to the Suna kunoichi he encountered and couldn't remember coming face-to-face with any of them. He thought back to some of the things he would hear his clansmen and other shinobi say but it was all a vague memory. He remembered the sense that they were all emotionally distant…or maybe they were all distance fighters, or maybe they were both. He didn't pay much attention to the conversations back then and it didn't really matter anyway.

Temari looked out to Madara the moment before the music started. She knew the key to any kind of dancing being effective was emotion and that was about all she had right now. The dance would fall flat if she didn't convey her feelings and she knew that Madara would see everything. His eyes seemed to miss nothing about her. She had no choice but to let some of her emotional guard down while dancing. She turned her back to him as the first notes started.

[The song she chose was ["Bir Demet Yasemen"](http://youtu.be/k21Gss1vTyg) by John Berberian & Bob Tashjian just take out the spaces. The dance is filled with hip and chest movements along with very graceful arms. Just imagine belly dancing.]

Temari picked a song about unending grief and she had no problem imagining the feeling. She started with her back to Madara and her arms down. She kept her arms slow and hip movements deep and dramatic. She eventually faced Madara leading with her hips and keeping her head facing the side as long as possible. She finally faced him once the lyrics started and she found her movements came easily. She kept everything solemn and slow for most of the song. She seemed to be searching for something and never finding it. About three minutes into the song she begins to flutter her hips along with the music and move around more. Her hips, stomach, and chest move faster for a while before the lyrics start again. She slows, but she's not as slow as before. Throughout the song she has avoided Madara's eyes and continues to do so. She ends the song in a slow turn and lateral hip movements facing away from him.

Madara was pleased with himself as he watched her sit at the table. He knew he had a talented eye, but Temari was truly a lucky find. He knew nothing about this girl before taking her, and he was satisfied with himself for picking such a magnificent girl on a whim. She was attractive, talented, and her dance was better than the ones he remembered.

Those laughing, smiling girls of the past were interchangeable. Their moves were all the same. They teased and tantalized with their bodies. Temari did much more than that. She communicated her despair. And whether she wanted to be or not, she was more tantalizing than anyone he'd ever seen. He was ready to escalate their interactions and he knew that would scare her.

He wanted to scare her. He imagined her face emoting against her will. He imagined her body twisting and curving in an effort to escape.

She pushed a bowl of soup towards him and served a bowl for herself. He watched her eat and avoid his eyes. He knew she felt uncomfortable but Madara was only concerned with himself. He didn't consider himself so low that he would take what was meant to be given, but he began to wonder if this situation was different than normal. He wasn't a random man looking for a quick thrill, too lazy to approach a woman, or put off by a woman's rejection. He was Madara Uchiha, and he did nothing below his name.

He doubted that Temari would willingly consent to the many salacious thoughts going through his head. He didn't particularly mind that she wouldn't consent to some things, but he had his own concerns. He could keep pushing her boundaries and testing her reactions. He decided that if he didn't hear a clear protest from her he would choose to remain outwardly ignorant to her more subtle objections. Until then there was no reason to stop his hands or eyes. He played with the idea that maybe she wanted him. He knew he was attractive and many women had tried to captivate him in the past.

He wanted to know more about the girl that finally fascinated him. He wanted to know who and what ran through her blood.

He remembered that Suna had an interesting tradition when it came to names. They never gave out their whole names. If they could get away with it they wouldn't give you any name. He didn't know if they had secret clans or if clans just didn't matter in the desert. They were either very private or very philosophical in their idea of identity. Madara knew that he would look more into Suna's history tomorrow, but tonight he would just see what Temari had to say.

Madara had finished half of his meal by this time, and Temari began to think that if their meals always went this way she wouldn't mind them. That is until he broke the silence.

"Tell me about yourself, Temari. Other than what you think I know."

"Am I actually allowed to talk freely? I don't want to say a sentence too much and wind up gagged all night."

"You have already said too much, but I won't gag you tonight. I don't want to wake up in a pool of your drool." Temari hid her reaction at the reminder of her sleeping arrangement. She had almost forgotten that she was expected to share a room and bed with him.  _But a sleeping Madara will be easier to threaten. If I could get a wind blade close enough to his neck I could make him release me. But should I really do this tonight?_

Madara saw her almost imperceptible reaction and smiled to himself.

"There's not much to tell about me that you probably don't know. But, I'll say it anyway. I'm the Fourth Kazekage's eldest child. I have two younger brothers, and one of them became the Fifth Kazekage. I use wind and a giant tessen, my fan that caught you when we briefly fought. I'm a jonin and I had a wonderful life before you showed up."

"I know all of that. Now tell me more." Temari held down a grumble and continued.

"I've completed 42 missions."

"More." Temari figured that Madara wouldn't stop unless she said something unrelated to being a shinobi.

"I like kenchin soup, and I don't like things with lots of wiggling limbs. I like the color purple. I like looking at and learning about flowers. I really like my current hairstyle even though it's been the same since I was 5. I don't have many friends but I love my brothers very much."

"Do you have any other family?" Madara put aside the many comments that came to mind about her statements. He had more important things to question her about.

"They are the only two still living. They are…very special to me. Did you have any siblings?"

"Yes, but I want to hear about you not about me. What do you know of your other family? Was your clan always small?"

"Why the interest in my family? Is there something I should know?"

"What have I told you about answering my questions and questioning my actions? All you need to know is the answer to my question."  _Oh shit. Dammit, Temari, you can smooth this over. I don't want him angry when I have to sleep near him._

Temari bowed her head. "I'm sorry, Madara-sama. I forgot. I won't forget again. You told me to always answer your questions and to not question what you do. I won't do it again. Give me a chance to answer your questions." Temari hadn't humbled herself in front of someone like that since…ever and she prayed that she was believable.

Madara knew she wasn't sincere, but he also wanted to let her off easy. "Proceed."

Temari kept her head bowed as she answered, "I don't know much about my other family. I believe we are somehow related to Akasuna no Sasori and the Honored Siblings, Chiyo and Ebizo. There may have been some relation to the first Kazekage. I personally think Kankurou is related to the second. They both have a fondness for theatrics. Honestly I could be related to many people and not know it. We don't keep track of things like that. We don't have clans."

Madara mulled that last sentence over. Most of his life revolved around his clan and he had a hard time imagining a life as someone who didn't have those ties. Did it offer a freedom he couldn't comprehend? He wondered on what it meant in terms of his actions. Without a clan to lead there would have been fewer expectations, fewer fights, and fewer responsibilities. But without his clan, there might be no Sharingan and there may be no Konoha. He knew he liked the power his clan granted him and being born as  _someone_  had its advantages in the world.

No, he appreciated his clan but he did begin to think about those without one a bit more.

"How do you feel not knowing your history?"

"I never viewed it as not knowing my history. I know a lot of history. I just don't know my blood heritage. I don't think I'm missing much by not having a clan except having even more responsibilities imposed on me." She paused and quickly looked up at him before looking back down. "Did you like many of the people in your clan?"

"I loved my clan. They were all very important in my life. If you know a lot of history, what do you know of Suna? You clearly don't know much about Konoha."

"You're right. I don't know nearly as much about Konoha as you. I don't even know as much as I would like about your clan. Or any clan. Or clans in general. I think clans just promote infighting, isolation, and distrust within a village. However, Konoha seems to be handling clans well so I'm probably wrong." Temari could have sworn she heard a snort come from Madara but she knew she had to be mistaken.

"As far as Suna's history, I know as much as I could find out about Shukaku. I know he's always lived amongst the sand. I don't know where he originated though or how he exactly relates to your Jubi.

"I know about our past kazekage and a bit about our history before Suna existed. We were a country of both nomads and sedentary peoples. We spoke different languages and had different customs until a foreign traveler visited each group and gave certain worthy people a gift. He was also seen as kind of a priest and would teach about solidarity in the need to survive and the importance of simultaneously keeping an individual mind amongst a group. I think it was said that his followers were the most powerful shinobi. It's definitely why our leaders seem to have extreme philosophies. We all think too much.

"This was the basis of everyone eventually coming together. When people started working together life became easier in the desert and everyone's lives got better. But there were so many different types of peoples that distrust and fighting eventually appeared again. Therefore it was decided to rid ourselves of the reason to fight amongst ourselves and only focus on outsiders like Konoha."

"Hmm…I rather like history, Temari. But I don't ever remember hearing about a wandering foreigner in the Land of Wind. Where was he from?"

"I don't know. I didn't find a lot written about him. I saw a reference to a reference of his three children though. So I guess he had three kids." Madara made a point to himself to look up this foreign traveler.

"That song you danced to was interesting. Wasn't it in one of the old languages?"

"Yes. Our father and uncle made sure we knew all of the old languages. No one speaks them anymore but our father was so strict we all still remember them."

"Tell me about the song." Temari coughed when she thought about the possible consequences of that question.

"The song was in an old language and I think the song itself is really old. It's about…basically it's about being separated from a love one. The wound will never heal and the pain will never cease as long as they're separated. All he has is a bunch of jasmine to remember him or her or them."

"You like flowers. What does jasmine mean to your people?"

"Just because I like flowers doesn't mean I know everything about them. I'm not from Konoha where they're everywhere. I do know that it's sometimes used by temples. And it generally means love and that kind of thing. Sometimes women use it to accessorize as well."

"So the song is about a lover that's gone?"

"Possibly. There are a lot of possible interpretations. That's part of the song's beauty." Madara wanted to ask her more but he felt it was getting late. They had finished dinner and were just talking. It felt nice to talk about something other than war. It was even nice to not play a mind game with Temari for a while.

He stood to leave and Temari stood a moment later. "I'm going to take a bath and then I'll probably get some sleep. It's been a while since I've actually slept and I look forward to it." He reached over and barely grazed her waist with his finger. "Especially with something to keep me warm at night." He almost missed her sharp intake of breath but it was enough to satisfy him. "Until later."

He left the room leaving a stunned Temari. She looked down at the table and called for Zetsu. He was there in an instant cleaning off the table. He also informed her that Z was waiting for her in the bedroom.

She met a smiling Z and suppressed the urge to hit his face. "Hi Temari, did you have a nice dinner?"

"Sure."

"Here are your pajamas. And you get a choice. Do you want me to tie you up or Madara?"

"Excuse me?"

"Really Temari, you ought to get your hearing checked. I said-"

"You." Z left her to change and told her to open the door when she was ready. Temari started to undress when she noticed the pajamas were not hers. She continued to undress and then put on the black satin boxer shorts that went about two inches past her rear. The top was short-sleeved and buttoned. It was black satin as well with pink piping and very snug.

She made sure to button every button before opening the door for Z. "Why am I not wearing my own pajamas?"

"These are better. Now just lie down on the bed and please don't give me any trouble. Madara wouldn't be happy if you did." Temari lay on the bed and noticed the small bag Z placed on the bed. "Turn around and lay on your stomach with your hands behind you."

Temari hesitated. She had been tied up down here before but she was knocked out. There was something about doing exactly what Zetsu said that felt very wrong. She quashed the feeling and did as he said. She had no better alternatives that she could see.

She knew she was getting bound because Madara would be a fool to trust her enough to sleep next to her without some precaution. She felt Z buckle the leather cuffs around her wrists and lock them in place. She could feel the chain between them was less than four inches long. Then Z put a long chain that led from the one on her cuffs to the back of her collar.

"All done. Just wait here for Madara. It's OK if you fall asleep; just remember stay on top of the covers." Temari turned around as Z closed the bedroom door. She tested out her restraints and found that there was no way she could maneuver her arms in front of her or use her chakra. She also couldn't curl her back well. The way Z latched on the cuffs prevented her arms from bringing her hands closer to her neck in any way.

_What am I going to do now? I knew it wouldn't be easy. I've got to get out of here! Now that Madara's no longer a corpse I've got to move quickly. He's probably sitting in the bath now thinking about the things he could do to me._

_My biggest obstacle is figuring a way out. Even if I killed or incapacitated him, I'd still be stuck in this cave condo._  Temari looked towards the door.  _I thought I heard him coming. Now I'm getting paranoid._

 _Think! Think! THINK! Maybe I'll ask to spend more time with him. He might give something away and I definitely won't find out anything while he's sleep or watching me dance. I'm just going to have to spend more time with him._ Temari didn't know how long she laid there but it seemed like hours to her. She started imagining sounds and expecting the door to open at any moment. She wished that she could fall asleep before he came to the room, but there was no chance her mind would calm enough for that.

* * *

After Madara left Temari he went to the library to plan his next day. His first priority was to figure out what the Allied Forces were going to do. He doubted they would give up and accept their fate. He also didn't want to underestimate them. Firstly, he didn't want them to find out he was right beneath them. He also needed a way to listen in. Zetsu was out because Naruto could easily detect him through negative feelings and there was no way Madara wouldn't be detected in the same manner.

The simplest thing to do would be to erase Temari's memory and release her under a jutsu that would unknowingly make her report information to Madara. It would be perfect and subtle. Not even she would suspect herself of being his spy.

It would be perfect if he wanted to let her go. Madara was having too much fun with her to even think about letting her go for so long. And there was no way he would erase her memory of their time together. He would have to find another way. He also needed to make sure a certain set of siblings didn't spend too much time looking for her.

Madara figured that with enough time and energy someone could figure out what happened to her. He didn't need those shinobi above ground to make this battle any more personal than it already was. If a time came when taunting them with his find became useful then that's when he would do it.

_Zetsu, where are you?_

"Here." Zetsu appeared out of the wall and went over to sit in front of Madara.

"I know you aren't my original Zetsu, but I can still find value in your council. How should we prevent them from finding us, and how do you think we should infiltrate the alliance?"

"Well, there are two shinobi I know capable of finding us. Naruto and Karin Uzumaki. There's nothing we can do about Naruto and he's not a definite. But Karin would definitely be able to find us if she tried hard enough."

"Then you know what you must do."

"Should I bring her down here, or kill her?"

"..."

"Well you brought Temari down here. At least Karin would be useful. She's an Uzumaki sensor and she has Senju blood in her. If you do the horizontal tango with her the child has the possibility to get your Rinnegan eyes."

Madara made no pretense at containing his anger. "You know nothing. I have no desire to make any babies with anybody. And I definitely wouldn't want to make a child who may one day be _as great as me_  especially while I'm still around. If I create a child it will be for a purpose and he would be different than me and may one day be  _greater than me_. Otherwise, what's the point?

"She also seems...off." Madara added.

"Temari's definitely 'off' too. So should I bring her here, or kill her?"

"..."

"Got it. She's dead. As for infiltrating the Allied Forces, we could try the same thing that helped us the first time…"

"Now I remember why I keep you around. Good job, Zetsu. Now, go kill Karin Uzumaki." Zetsu began to leave the library when Madara stopped him. "It's time to kill Temari too."

* * *

Temari heard the door open and tried to quiet her mind. She was on her side facing away from the door and most of the bed. She felt the bed give as Madara got in.

He reached over and pulled her shoulder towards him so she was lying on her arms and back looking up at him looking down on her. She saw his eyes trace her figure before they traveled back up from her legs and paused at her midsection. She tried to stay as still as possible. She almost didn't breathe.

"This was a mistake." He hastily scooped her in his arms and brought her to the shallow pit of pillows and blankets at the far end of the room. "You'll sleep here from now on."

"What? Can you at least put a blanket over me?" But Madara was already out the door. Temari didn't want to think about what caused that strange behavior, but she could relax a bit more knowing that Madara wouldn't roll over on top of her at any time of the night.

She tried to wait for him to return but soon fell asleep. Madara did eventually return to his bed and was amused to see that Temari only managed to get a blanket over her legs.

He fell asleep almost immediately in a dreamless sleep; however, every time Temari woke in the night he did as well.


	8. A Long Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: There is a non-consensual sex act that happens in this chapter.

* * *

 

The next morning Madara left a sleeping Temari to go to the library. His conversation with Zetsu forced him to confront his thoughts about Temari. What started as an impulse to squash the little girl who dared to think that she could challenge him had morphed into a warped fascination. There was no question that he found her much more attractive than when he first saw her. He wanted her, and he had no one to blame but himself.

But why Temari? If he had picked any other female who challenged him, would he still have these feelings?

He thought of that pink-haired girl who fought alongside Naruto and Sasuke. She was clearly Tsunade's student and a strong kunoichi. Madara definitely would not have minded squashing her to size, but there was something about her that didn't appeal to him. Madara couldn't quite place it, but he was sure she was not for him. She seemed broken.

Then there was the Mizukage. She was most assuredly an attractive and powerful woman. But again, there was something there that repelled him. She seemed too much of a temptress.

He could tell Temari was different with just one look. She screamed unattainable with every ounce of her being. No one could touch her, and she dared them to try. And he was the one who caught her.

During their dinner together he found her surprisingly interesting. She's smarter than he originally thought, and she had taken it upon herself to learn about his favorite topic of history.

 _And her dancing..._  Madara found himself replaying her performances in his mind. She was capable of subtlety and a unique perception that came through in her dancing. How did he manage to pick a girl who could move her body that way?

"Madara-sama, how long do you want to wait before we start receiving intelligence?" Zetsu snapped him out of his reverie.

"At least a week. Anything they do before that will probably not work anyway. How did you manage to get Kabuto?"

"I appeared as you offering a deal. He couldn't tell the difference. Then I just slit his throat when he wasn't expecting it. Karin was easy."

"Go help Z, and then make sure nothing goes wrong with our plan."

"Got it."

* * *

Gaara felt exhausted in both body and mind. He and Kankurou spent most of the night cross checking the list of missing shinobi from his division with the storage scrolls of the dead and then again with those receiving medical treatment. They reduced the list by two-thirds, but they confirmed that Temari was not present in the encampment.

Kankurou was relieved to not see her name or description in the storage scrolls. If his sister had died, he didn't want to find out that way. The only places left to check were the first battlefield for the fourth division and the distance between here and there. They both knew there was nothing they could do until their morning division leader meeting, so Kankurou slept and Gaara waited.

The meeting went by smoothly and quickly. Gaara confirmed that all of his appointments from yesterday were approved, and Kakashi officially made Naruto his proxy for the Third Division.

"If everyone could give their list of missing shinobi to Shizune to cross-check that would be helpful. I trust you all to coordinate things with her on your own. Then you can give those final lists to me. C and Aoba, I need you to begin searching for Madara, Kabuto, and Karin immediately. The kage all agree that this is top priority. Naruto, when you have time could you please help them search for Madara?"

"Sure."

"Santa did you gather your team?" He nodded. "Good. Make sure you have someone who has a communicator. I have already confirmed my list last night. I want you to leave immediately and search between here and where the Fourth Division was stationed. When the other lists are complete I'll send them to you by bird if you're not already back."

"Of course, Kazekage-sama."

"Thank you. If there is nothing else, you are all dismissed. You are welcome to stay for our next meeting with the other kage though." He gave a pointed look at Kankurou who nodded and left after Santa.

"Santa, can I talk to you for a moment?" Santa stopped and turned to Kankurou, "I'm coming with your team."

"But Kankurou, I don't think-"

"Don't worry about it. I'm responsible for my own actions. I'll meet you in ten minutes." Kankurou went to gather his puppets and supplies. He also packed a scroll from Sai that enclosed a bird which would travel straight to Sai. It was enough for him and one other person to get back to the encampment quickly.

* * *

Temari woke the second she sensed someone come near her. "I'm glad you're awake." Temari let out a loud groan realizing her nightmare was in fact real and still going on.

"Just take these cuffs off. What time is it? I want to get an early start today." Z helped her stand on the many pillows around her and removed her bonds.

"It's early enough. You know you have to cook lunch and dinner. You can figure out what you'll fix while you eat breakfast. Then you need to prepare a dance for dinner. You'll shower after every time you cook. This is what you will do every day. Any questions?"

"Of course, but I'd rather not ask them all at the moment. Where are my clothes?" Temari looked towards the rumpled bed as she stretched her arms.

"You don't need any until you shower for lunch."

"Whatever, Z." Temari rolled her eyes and left the room to have a small breakfast of cereal while she browsed the cookbooks for lunch and dinner options. She found meals for the next three days and wrote down all of the things she would need from Z. She needed more free time and now she wouldn't need to waste it figuring out what to cook for the next few days.

Z told her she had three hours to practice before she needed to cook and shower. As soon as she closed the door to the entertaining room she wanted to scream and punch the wall. Keeping her emotions in check was starting to take a toll on her. She calmed herself and began to plan.

She needed to come up with as many dances as she could today so she could spend more time in the library and trying to find a way out. Belly dancing would be much easier for her to choreograph, but she didn't miss the way Madara looked at her last night. She wanted to stay as covered as possible around him. She knew that look and she didn't like it. _  
_

She took the entire time to practice and had ideas for at least 3 different traditional dances before Z came to get her.

"Temari, what are you going to do tonight? Tell me what kind of dance it is, so I can dress you appropriately."

"Traditional."

"Tell me about your dance. I want to pick the perfect thing for you to wear."

"Well, it's soothing."

"I think I know just the thing. Now I'll help you with lunch." Temari and Z didn't talk much after that until Z cut Temari's hand while handing her a knife.

"Are you an idiot? How does a shinobi cut someone accidentally with a... You did it on purpose. Why?" Z grabbed her hand and pressed a cloth to it.

"We should stop the bleeding." Z pressed the dark cloth into the wound while his other hand glowed green and quickly healed the wound. "There. Madara would get mad at me if I left you scarred." Temari yanked her hand back from him and inspected it.

"Why did you cut me?" Z never answered her. Temari played with the idea of stabbing him in the stomach. There was the possibility that she could actually kill him that way, but she decided that she might end up needing him in the long run.

Z removed her collar and Temari went to shower and dress. The kimono was the same type as the first one she wore when she first served him with medium length sleeves. It was cream coloured with a dipped red around the edges and red, orange, and green flowers. Z completed it by tightly tied a bright green and gold obi around her. It was stiff and confining. She hated it. He stuck an assortment of kanzashi in her four ponytails and pushed her out the door.

Temari was glad that she wouldn't have to dance for Madara at every meal. This was her chance to get some information of her own out of Madara. At least she felt that way until she actually saw him.

He never failed to stun her with his presence. His power was always overwhelming. She let him put on the unbelievably tight collar and sat down to eat. She made his plate before her own and they ate in silence for a while.

 _It's now or never Temari._ "How is the tree doing?"

"It is doing fine. I am glad to hear you're taking an interest in it. I have enacted a plan today that should sabotage anything the Allied Forces think of. We'll see how it goes in a few days."

"They haven't tried anything yet?"

"I'm sure their first attack will come soon. Thinking of the people up there, concerning your song choice from last night, who are you missing the most besides your adorable little brothers?"  _Be careful Temari. He's definitely going to use whatever you say against you._

"No one, I guess."

"You didn't have any friends who might miss you? If I told you that you are going to be dead by the end of the day, would no one but your family grieve you?"

"I have friends. There are my students and my teammates. But they would mourn me just like they would anyone else."

"I'm surprised. You don't have a boyfriend?"

"No."

"So you're a lesbian?"

Temari snarled, "It doesn't mean I'm a lesbian just because I don't have a boyfriend."

"So if you like men, why don't they like you?"

"What is with you asking me about this? Frankly, it's personal and it's none of your business. Now change the subject immediately. I would ask you something equally as frustrating but everyone you've dated is probably long dead." Temari was fuming. She hated it when people assumed she was interested in girls just because she didn't have a boyfriend. And she really didn't like people prying into her personal business.

Madara looked at her and slightly raised an eyebrow. "I'll be sure to not make the mistake again." At that moment Z entered the room and gave Madara a small bag before leaving immediately. "Little girls who like men should know how to speak to one. Isn't that right, Temari?" She was instantly on alert.

She tentatively replied, "Yes, Madara-sama."

"Then let me ask you this. What is your goal as a girl who likes men?" Temari looked up at him confused. She knew he was mad at her for the way she spoke to him, but she didn't know what he wanted her to say.

"I don't know, Madara-sama. I'm sorry fo-"

"Stop." He placed both palms on the table and leaned in close to Temari. "Look at me." Temari looked in his purple eyes and lost the boldness she had a moment ago. "I am your goal. I am the most important person in your life. You should be pleased that you're finally getting the attention you deserve from a man." He leaned back and motioned for her to come around the table to him.

"Open your mouth and turn around." Temari prepared herself for the cloth she knew was coming but was surprised to feel a very large plastic ball. "This is something new. I hope it fits." The ball gag forced Temari's jaw open right past the point of being comfortable. She could feel the straps pulling against the corners of her mouth and knew that it would leave indentations on her face. She heard a click and guessed that it was locked in place. The she felt a tug at the back of head. Madara attached a short chain from the back of the gag to the back of her collar. She could no longer turn or lower her head without strain.

"Turn back around." Temari could feel a small amount of drool coming out of her mouth as she turned to face Madara. "A girl like you should only have one thing on her mind: how to please me. This will help you stay on course. Now stay here and make sure you have a nice dance ready for me tonight."

Temari could already feel herself getting a headache from the tightness of the gag and her jaw being held open. She took a cloth off the table and was wiping her chin when Z entered the room. "You're always talking too much Temari. You should just listen to Madara and do as he says. He only wants the best for you. You know your glare doesn't seem half so bad with a big red ball in your mouth." Z told her she had four hours to practice before she had to begin cooking again.

Temari practiced three of her dances while periodically stopping to massage her jaw. She fixed dinner, showered, and dressed for dinner. She could move her head freely after Z removed her collar for the shower, but her mouth remained gagged.

The kimono Z gave her for dinner was grand and similar in style and layers to the first kimono she danced in. However this one didn't have an uchikake. It had extremely long sleeves and was slightly open near the bottom so she could move. It was baby pink and light blue with embroidered flowers all over it with alternating layers of light green, blue and pink underneath. The obi was light green and gold. Z placed elaborate flower kanzashi in her hair that dangled as she moved. "You look very pretty, Temari. I don't think you'd even recognize yourself. Now try to make Madara happy tonight."

* * *

Santa's team had worked out a system where they would travel in way that could cover the most ground. They stayed alert for low chakra levels and shinobi gear such as lost clothing, supplies, or weapons. They were half-way to their targeted battlefield when Santa finally asked Kankurou to explain himself.

"Santa, I'm only telling you this because you're the captain of this team. I would appreciate it if you don't make a fuss about it to everyone else. I don't want people to think the Kazekage's family is getting special treatment."

"That's understandable. As long as what you tell me seems reasonable, I won't tell."

"I'm looking for my sister. No one has seen her since the five kage fought Madara when he was still reanimated."

"I understand. I would do the same as you in your situation. You have my support and I'll let you know if anything comes up. I really think we might find her. We've already located quite a few people who were knocked unconscious or just seemed to lose their way. I'm happy to say it hasn't been a trail of bodies."

"Well, I heard the battlefield might be a different story." With that Kankurou sped ahead keeping his eyes peeled for blonde hair.

Not much was said until they had reached the actual battlefield. None of them were present when Madara had brought down two asteroids and they were not prepared for the landscape. The land looked strange. Half of it strangled beneath gigantic tangled vines and flowers while the other half looked like another planet. They found everyone who was left on the list deceased except Temari.

"Kankurou, we're still going to look for her, but she's most likely dead. We're going to head back and double-check for her on the way."

"I understand, but I can't leave yet. I'll try to catch up later, but Gaara will understand if I don't come back with you."

Kankurou walked the battlefield looking for signs of his sister. He looked for two hours on his own, when he started to set-up camp. He was pulling out his tent when he heard it. A very faint, "Kankurou." It was a woman's voice and his heart jumped at the thought that it was Temari. He turned instead to see a woman from Santa's team. His heart stopped when he saw Temari's fan in her hands.

"We found this and a headband with Temari's name engraved on it. Santa thought you would want it immediately." She held the fan out to him and he just couldn't take it right away. There was no way Temari would just  _leave_  her fan behind for someone to take.

"Was there a body near this fan?"

"No. Just the fan and a few yards from it we found the headband." Kankurou took the headband first. He saw Temari's name on the back of the plate and knew that it was hers. He finally took the fan and opened it. It was torn through in multiple places and some of the blades were bent. It didn't close back easily.

"Would you like a ride back to camp? I need to get this to my brother and let him know about our sister."

* * *

Temari turned and let Madara take off her gag and put on her collar. She gave him his food and Madara rather quickly picked up their conversation where they left off.

"Are you a girl who likes men?"

"Yes, Madara-sama." She answered a little exasperated.

"Did you have feelings for anyone?"

"No. Even if I did I wouldn't tell you. You would just use it against me. Aren't you going to kill me anyway?" Madara smirked at her.

"I really just want to know how experienced you are." Temari took a deep breath to remain calm.

"What do you mean by 'experienced?'"

"I thought you were smart. You can just answer me after you dance." Temari was grateful to get away from the conversation and she quickly went over to the music player picked up the smaller lavender fans and prepared to dance.

[Temari chose to do a heavily traditionally inspired dance to "A Hill with No Name" by the Yoshida Brothers. ( you tu. be / MrG42_fFu-Q Just take out the spaces.) The dance isn't really traditional, but it's close.]

The song was pretty and relaxing; exactly what Temari conveyed in her dancing. She kept her moves graceful and light and focused on her fans. Temari used her wind to make the fans move slowly through the air when she tossed them. Her moves were far from demure, but she was much less bold than in her previous dances.

To Temari the song reminded her of a soft soothing breeze on a lazy day. As she danced she tried to remember those days in Suna when the heat felt warm instead of searing and she had absolutely nothing scheduled. Days when she would read about flowers and then imagine running through a field of them, smelling them on every breeze. The song ended gently and Temari almost forgot to leave her dream world when it was over.

She placed her fans against the wall and contemplated just walking straight out the door. She felt so calm right then that she didn't want to ruin it by seeing Madara's face. As if he could read her mind he told her to come back and sit at the table.

"I've been thinking about what you told me last night about your history, and I found something that might interest you concerning your foreign traveler. Have you heard of Hagoromo Otsutsuki, also known as the Sage of the Six Paths, or Kaguya Otsutsuki?"

"Kaguya? That does sound familiar. Isn't she the Rabbit Goddess, or Demon, or alien depending on who you're talking to? I have read a little about her. I remember this one crazy book that said Konoha was destined to be the greatest shinobi village. The author was a nutjob who kept talking about the blood of... Well yes, I've heard of Kaguya. And I'm guessing Hagoromo was either her son or her husband?"

"What were you going to say before you stopped? What did this 'nutjob' say?"

"Well, now he doesn't seem that crazy. He said Konoha was great because Kaguya blessed them with her eyes. Eyes that only belong to Konoha. I'm going to make a wild guess and say that she had the Sharingan. Am I right?"

"Yes. She had both the Sharingan and the Byakugan. She took chakra from the Shinju tree and gave it to mankind. Without her there would be no shinobi. I have the power of the Sage of the Six Paths, her son, inside me as well as her own power. Hagoromo spread chakra throughout the world in order to connect people on a spiritual level. He thought that people who truly knew each other would promote a sustained peace on their own. However people subverted his teachings by turning their chakra into weapons. There will never be peace unless it's forced on people. That is the only peace our world can know, and that's what I plan on doing.

"It took a lot of digging, but I finally found some information about Suna. Hagoromo traveled there like he did with the other lands and spread chakra and his teachings. I started to assume this was the foreigner you spoke of earlier, but fortunately I kept looking. Hagoromo had a brother named Fushi.

"Fushi did not share his brother's philosophy about the world. He was almost the opposite of Hagoromo, and he did not give his chakra away so freely. He eventually tired of people in general and left everyone he knew. I'm guessing that he chose the Land of Wind because it had the largest amount of empty space and nomadic people.

"He lived there alone until his brother contacted him with a message. He was going to send Shukaku to Fushi. When Fushi went to a nearby settlement to prepare them for Shukaku's coming I'm guessing some fetching little sand gypsy caught his eye.

"He wrote in a letter to Hagoromo that he told the people in the region to expect Shukaku. He also wrote that he had three children: two boys and one girl." Madara watched Temari to see if any signs of recognition flashed across her face, but he saw none. "Your foreign traveler was most likely Hagoromo Otsutsuki, but his brother Fushi actually lived there. It was Fushi who your Kazekage are probably descended from.

"Now, I find it strange fate that the reincarnations of Hagoromo's children received a considerable amount of help from a kazekage with two other siblings who are probably descendants of the most powerful shinobi in Suna. I'm not sure what it all means, but it has just made you that much more interesting."

Temari did not miss his implication but she was schooled in keeping her face from showing certain tells. Her mind was reeling. What did this mean for her family? What would this mean for Madara? Most importantly, what would it mean for her? Temari knew there was a way she could turn this possible revelation to her benefit. She just had to figure it out.

"Thank you for telling me this, Madara-sama."

"I've shared some information with you, now you're going to share very freely with me. Are you done eating?"

"Yes."

"It's getting late. Get ready for bed." Temari was expecting him to ask her more questions about herself, but she wasn't going to complain. The quicker she could get to tomorrow, the sooner she'd be escaping. Z met her in the bedroom and untied her obi. She found a new set of pajamas for her to put on. The shorts were pink satin and the top was a pink satin camisole with white lace. The camisole left a few inches of her stomach bare. She called Z back in to take her kimono and he handed her a short pink satin kimono style robe. "You might need this tonight." Temari put it on thankful to have more coverage. She wondered if Z was going to cuff her again, but he never brought it up. He left and Temari went over to the shallow crater she called her bed and was arranging the pillows and blankets when she heard Madara come in.

"I want to continue or conversation." Madara walked over and sat with his legs crossed on a few pillows. He motioned for Temari to sit but he never took his eyes off her legs. He thought they were long, and surprisingly pale. Her muscles were not overly developed, but he could still see their strength whenever she moved. He motioned for her to sit closer and she did while still keeping a good distance.

"This is a new setting for us, but I was tired of smelling food. Is it comfortable sleeping here instead of in a bed?"

"It's fine. It's comfortable enough for me. I don't need to sleep in the bed." Temari almost added that she didn't want to sleep in the bed, but Madara might take that as an insult and she didn't need that at the moment. She couldn't tell what he was thinking but she saw his eyes roaming her legs. She self-consciously tugged on the robe trying to get another inch out of the smooth fabric.

"Do you not like showing your legs?" She had hoped he didn't notice that.

"It's not that."

"Z told me most of your outfits were rather short. So why are you uncomfortable?" Temari's throat felt incredibly tight. She tried to swallow and felt the collar push against her neck.

"I don't know."  _Obviously it's you that makes me uncomfortable. I have to change the subject now._ "It's a little chilly in here, I guess."

"They are a rather nice pair. How many people have touched them?" Temari's eyes would have looked comical if her situation weren't so serious.  _How many people have...?_

"Well, sometimes when I fight I-"

"How many people have stroked them?"

"Uh...none that I can remember, I guess."

"Temari, I must know something before I go any farther."  _FARTHER! You've already gone too far._

"Don't you think we should get some rest? It has been a long day and-"

"How many people have had you? How many have known your body?"  _NO! Maybe if I say a lot he won't be interested. Why else would he even ask me?_ Her eyes darted around the room as she tried to find a tactful way out of this conversation.

"Five! Five boys. I've been with five boys and I don't want to add any more to that number." Madara moved closer to her and lightly placed a hand on her knee. He felt her tense at the touch.

"You're lying. Tell me the truth." Temari looked down as his hand traveled slowly up her thigh.

"No one. I've been with no one, and I want to keep it that way." she said harshly. His hand stopped at the end of her shorts.

"Good. Look at me." Madara grabbed her chin with his other hand and forcefully turned her head. "Always look at me." Madara's eyes smiled at the fear and defiance in her. He moved his body closer to hers without letting go of her face.

"You smell so delicious." He brought his face within an inch of her neck while his hand went from her face to keeping her neck in place. She felt the strength in his hands when she tried to move away. "I'm dying to know if you taste as good as you smell." He pulled her neck the other inch and started sucking on her neck. Temari struggled to remain calm, and focused on keeping her breathing steady.

His hand moved under her shorts. "No." She started to panic and pushed his wrist with both hands. His grip on her neck tightened.

He spoke into her neck "'No?' What do you mean 'no?'" He went back to sucking her neck, and she felt the threat of his teeth. His mouth began to move lower.

"I mean that I don't want you to do this." He relented and moved away. Temari started to thank him until she saw his hand reach out to her.

He pulled the tie to open her robe and pushed it off her. Temari never felt colder in her life. She turned away from him and felt her eyes water. "Look at me, and listen to what I'm about to say." She fought back her tears and turned to him. "I've figured out that you were made to belong to me. What other reason could there be for this? Why would no one else have claimed you?" He began to raise her shirt.

"I deserve you." He pulled her top over her head and down her arms. "You saved yourself for me. I appreciate that. But now that I  _know_  you're mine, I feel much better about all of this." He traced the marks he left on her neck. "Things that belong to me do what I want them to do. So tell me, do you think that what you want matters?"

She was struck dumb and just stared back at him. "ANSWER THE QUESTION." His sharp slap brought her mind back.

"No."

"Be clear." Temari took a deep breath that ended in a shiver.

"What I want doesn't matter." Madara could tell she didn't believe it, but she soon would.

"Take those off, and lay down." Temari saw him grow as he lowered his pants. She slowly shook her head. She couldn't think. She couldn't do anything. Madara smirked at her reaction and pulled her bottoms down in one swift yank that knocked her off balance. "Lay down." She still didn't move. Madara pushed her on her back. He straddled her and took in her visage.

His mind faltered. She was mesmerizing in every way, and she would belong to no one but him. She was created to please him, and all he had to do was claim her. He saw the wetness in her eyes and it only made him want to see the tears fall.

Her skin was so inviting, and he wanted to consume her in every way. He lowered himself and began to voraciously kiss and suck her collarbone as he rubbed himself against her flat stomach. She gagged from the wet trail his mouth left and had to fight down the urge to vomit from feeling him on her. She tried to push him off of her, but he was unmoving. It was like she wasn't doing anything at all.

His hand latched onto her breast and he began to push and squeeze her. It hurt, and Temari wondered if he was actually trying to bruise her. She instinctively tried to cover her chest. He pinched a bit of her neck between his teeth in protest, and she gasped at the pain. He grabbed her arms and held them above her head with one hand while the other continued to press against her chest. She closed her eyes and tried to convince herself that this wasn't real. That it was just a horrible nightmare, the result of too much dancing.

He pulled back to look at her and saw her eyes were squeezed shut. "I told you to always look at me." He twisted her nipple until she cried out and her eyes opened. Temari couldn't hold back her tears any longer. She was naked on Madara's floor, at his mercy and with nowhere to run. She felt helpless for the second time in her life.

"Madara, you don't have to do this." He let her arms go and pulled her legs apart. She tried to cover herself. "Please! I'll do whatever you want, just not this." He crossed her wrists and pushed them against her stomach with one hand while the other aligned himself with her.

She felt the tip of him rubbing against her opening and she became frantic. She squirmed and tried to get away from him. "No!" He let go of her wrists to get better leverage before pushing in.

She took advantage of this moment and tried to push him off of her. He felt impossibly solid and heavy. He started slowly pushing into her and she went from frantic to panicked. She screamed, "No! I won't let you do this!" She felt the chakra gather in her hands to slice his chest, but she was too slow.

Madara growled, "Don't you dare." He grabbed an arm in each hand and slammed them to ground. Temari struggled to get free, but Madara was crushing her arms. She bent her legs to try to kick him but she just gave Madara more access. "I'll make this quick. I can see you're getting restless."

He drove into her hard and paused to take in the moment. Temari wailed in agony. She felt immense pressure and a tearing that wrenched her stomach.

"Yes, heaven...You are heaven." Pain rippled throughout her body with every thrust.

She was openly crying and avoiding his face. "Look at me." Temari turned back and was horrified to see him smile for the first time. He came down and gently kissed her on the mouth. "You are so beautiful like this." Madara slowed his pace. "I want this to last forever." Temari sobbed and just hoped for it to be over. Her loud cry put him over the edge and forced him to pick up his pace again. He let out a loud guttural moan, and Temari winced when she felt him come inside her. He stood over her with her blood still on him and walked away. She felt her blood and his cum leaking out of her but she couldn't make herself move.

* * *

Gaara was talking with Shikamaru and Kakashi about possible strategies when Kankurou burst through the tent.

"Gaara, I- Sorry, I didn't realize you were with others. I'll come back."

"No Kankurou, It's-" Gaara looked towards the door and saw the fan in his brother's arms. "It's- Temari?"

"Gaara, Shikamaru and I can leave. We'll see you tomorrow, OK?"

"Yes, thank you, Kakashi. I'll speak to you both tomorrow." Gaara didn't see them leave. He couldn't take his eyes off of her fan. "Where is she? How did she die, Kankurou?"

"We didn't find her body, just her fan and headband." Kankurou opened the fan to show Gaara and passed him her headband. "It has her name engraved on it. You know how she was paranoid about sharing them and getting lice or fleas or something."

"Kankurou, you're the only one she thought had lice or fleas. She used to say that to you because you thought it was weird she marked her headband. Do you really think she's dead?"

"I don't... No. She can't be. Where's her body if she were? Kabuto's on our side, right? He wouldn't reanimate our sister. I know she can't be dead."

"Brother, while you were gone today, we located Kabuto and Karin Uzumaki. Karin was killed, and her legs looked like they were eaten off. All we found of Kabuto was a pile of bones. Some medical tests are being performed to ensure they belong to him, but all signs point to yes."

"Ewwugh. That's horrific. Who do you think did it?"

"We don't know. Last we heard they were with Jugo and Suigetsu. They were nowhere to be found, but they also could have just parted ways after the battle. I believe Sasuke was what was holding them all together. They are searching for the two of them to try to get some answers, but I don't think they will know anything. I don't know who he was, but one person said it looked like the work of Zetsu, which makes sense. If Zetsu is still with Madara, he may have had them killed to prevent them from giving away his location." While Gaara was talking he was absentmindedly stroking Temari's fan. He had never really touched it before and when he realized what he was doing he stopped. It somehow felt wrong, like he was violating her in some way.

He picked up her headband from the table and started to rub the fabric through his fingers. "Be careful, Gaara. I'm pretty sure a bit of Temari's blood is on there."

"What?"

"It's hard to see because the fabric is so dark, but I think there's blood there."

"Kankurou, I want you to take this to the medical unit and get the blood tested. Make sure it's Temari's type. Then I want you to take her headband and fan to Kiba. Figure out who's been near it and see if he can follow her scent. I don't believe my sister is dead. There would be much more collateral damage if she were killed in a fight. I need to find out what happened to her."

"No problem, Gaara. We'll figure it out."

* * *

Everything ached, and she was physically, mentally, and spiritually hurt. Until now she felt like she was just playing a part in this. She was pretending to do as he said just till she got a chance to escape. But this was not pretend. This was not part of her plan. She heard Madara leave the room and she cried for what she lost.

She laid there for a while before making herself get up and go to the bathroom. She needed to wash him out of her. She took the longest shower in her memory and it helped her regain her senses. She examined her body in the mirror and was appalled by the blemishes he left on her. Her neck and collar bone were covered by his marks. Her left breast was bruised from his groping and both of her wrists and forearms were turning purple. And those were just the marks one could actually see. By the time she walked out she was more determined than ever that she would escape. What more could he do to her? Tomorrow would be the day she would try to figure out how to get out.

She found that she couldn't put on the pink pajamas she had on before, so she tried to sleep in her bath robe. She laid there for hours not being able to sleep. She could feel her leather collar becoming stiffer and tighter as it dried. She quietly stood up and stared at Madara. Temari contemplated throwing all her plans away and just forcing him to let her out. She took a step towards him and he was in front of her instantly.

"Whatever you're thinking of will not work.  _You_  can't kill me. If you can't sleep, leave the room. But starting tomorrow, you sleep  _with_ me." For the rest of the night Temari read in the library. She read all she could find about the Shinju tree and the Otsutsuki family until Z came and told her it was time to practice her dancing.

* * *

The morning proceeded as the previous one. She once again found herself in a confining kimono that restricted her gait. She gave Madara his lunch and hoped that they could eat in silence.

She couldn't stand to look at him and she was doing everything to try to avoid him. She forced down a few bites of the chicken she prepared and waited with her head down while he ate his meal.

"Temari, look at me." She reluctantly raised her head and her eyes began to water. "What's wrong? You look like you are about to cry."

"What's wrong!? You're what's wrong." Temari's voice rose with every word. "Looking at you makes me so mad that it's  _almost_  making me cry from anger. I hate you! You're crazy, and you won't let me leave. YOU RAPED ME! How could you ask me 'what's wrong?' Just let me leave. You've had your fun. You've won! I lost! Everyone, but you, lost! Just...just be a gracious winner, and let me go, please." Temari watched his face go from a neutral stare to an almost manic smile. He laughed loudly and boisterously in her face.

Temari stood to leave. If she couldn't leave this nightmare, she could at least leave this room. Madara began to speak between laughs, " _I raped you_? That's impossible. I can't take what already belongs to me. And why would you need to leave? You have no business anywhere else."

"You have really lost your mind. I am a PERSON, and I have a right to  _not_  be kept prisoner by a delusional madman." Madara's laugh died and he stood between her and the door.

"You have a right to what I choose to give you, and I have given you everything you need." Temari saw him getting closer to her and she began to back away.

She pleaded, "If you really think I belong to you, what's the harm in letting me go? Tell me how to leave." The wall startled her when she backed into it. "Please."

"Why should I? I have no reason to." Madara reached her and began to play with her hair while caging her with his body. "I have all I want, that should be enough for you."

"But is it enough for  _you_? Don't you want me to be happy? Won't it make you feel better if I feel better?" Madara bent down and kissed her forehead. "I just want to feel the wind again." He moved down to her cheek. "I want to feel the warmth of the sun. It would calm me down. I-" Madara pressed his lips against hers and forced his tongue in her mouth. Temari instantly felt suffocated. She tried to turn her head and push him away, but Madara held her head in place.

Her chest got tight, and she felt like she would pass out at any moment. Madara paused his kiss and whispered into her ear, "I let you breathe. That is enough for me. Don't ask again."

"Then can I spend time with you today?" Temari knew that if she could just get one hint about how to get out she could figure it out. She had to escape this. Madara kissed her so hard her head banged against the wall.

"That would be too distracting, and I will be in some of the rooms forbidden to you. Just have something nice planned for me tonight because I have something planned for you." He licked her lips before leaving her in the room.

* * *

After a small breakfast with most of his division, Kankurou made quick work of finding Kiba. He, Akamaru, and Shino were all together near some other leaf shinobi.

"Kiba, can I talk to you privately for a moment."

"Sure, come on, Akamaru."

"Am I not invited as well?" asked Shino. Kiba shrugged and looked towards Kankurou.

"Yeah, come on Shino. I don't see how it would hurt." They all ventured to Gaara's private tent and found it empty. Kankurou motioned for them to have a seat. "I don't know if you heard about Temari or not, but I need a favor from you."

"Yeah, sorry about that. I know I would be real upset if something happened to Hana."

"Yes, I also heard that she was deceased. But that her body was not recovered. Not having a body to grieve over can make the healing process much harder."

"Yeah, well, I'm not convinced  _until_  I see a body. She would never forgive me if she was out there somewhere, and I didn't look for her."

"If she isn't here then what could have happened?" Shino wondered aloud. He had always secretly envied the Sand Siblings. They were all strange and peculiar, but they had each other. Shino sometimes wished he had a sibling to be strange with. He sometimes imagined such a future with Temari. If she could accept men like her brothers, he thought she might be able to accept him too.

"We don't know. That's why I'm talking to you. Kiba, can you smell her stuff and tell me what you can figure out?"

"No problem, Kankurou. Anything for you guys." Kankurou placed her headband and fan on the bed so Kiba and Akamaru could sniff it.

"Whoa! I know that smell! I'm not sure what it means, but Zetsu is all over this fan. He has a very unique smell when he's in his normal state because of his mimicking ability that it can't be anyone but him. Zetsu has definitely held this fan for a while." They all turned to Akamaru as he began to go wild barking. "Akamaru? Are you sure?" Kiba picked up the headband and smelled it.

He sat on the floor with Akamaru for a few moments seeming to meditate. "Kiba, what do you smell? Do you know where my sister is? Could you follow her trail?"

"No."

"No! Then what's with the show?"

"No, we can't follow the trail. We don't know why but her smell kind of hovers around. There is no trail to follow."

"Well thanks anyway, Kiba."

"We can't follow it, but there's something else on here. Kankurou, just let me finish what I have to say before you freak out on me, OK?" Kankurou nodded and he could have sworn he saw a small nod from Shino. "This is without a doubt Temari's. I can smell her blood and sweat on it. But there's usually some kind of fear mixed with blood. I can usually smell the fear days after someone's bled on something. But her blood doesn't have any fear. Now, I do smell some in her sweat, but, I mean, we've been at war so that means next to nothing.

"I can smell Zetsu on this as well as earth. There's a strong earth smell. I don't really know what it means, but I can bring this to my mom and Hana and see what they say. Then there are the other people. I can recognize you and Gaara, and some Konoha shinobi but there's also a faint smell of...Madara."

"UCHIHA? That Madara?" Kankurou was in a state of disbelief.

"Kankurou, Kiba, this could mean nothing. We do not know how close they were when they fought together. That could be a lingering smell from battle."

"It could be. This is really weird, man. What do you want to do, Kankurou?"

"I don't know. I've got to talk to Gaara. Don't tell anyone about this until I get back to you, OK?" They all nodded. When they exited the tent they saw that everyone seemed to be buzzing about something. "What's going on now?"

"It seems that Yamato has been found." Kankurou turned to see Shino seemingly conversing with a bug sitting on his finger. "He's in the Medical tents and an emergency kage meeting has been called. I'm sure you would be welcome as one of Gaara's guards."

"You're right. Will you guys come with me? I think what we may have just found out might be very important."

* * *

Dinner came around too soon and Temari found herself once again in the entertaining room serving Madara his meal. She was in another layered kimono. It was a simple red pattern with off-white layers underneath, but the fabric was of excellent quality. She had a matching outer robe covered in flowers and frills. It was not something she would have picked for herself, but it could have been worse.

They ate dinner before she performed her mandatory dance.

[She did a traditionally inspired dance to a song called "Cherry Blossoms in Winter" by the Yoshida Brothers ( you tu .be / gJk8mB7DIS4 just take out the spaces.)]

Temari grabbed one of the larger black fans that represented Madara's new world for her dance. She began facing him and faced him for most of the dance. She wanted her dance to be soft, yet confrontational. She utilized a lot of fighting stances disguised amongst her dance moves. She had not lost her desire to escape and she wanted Madara to understand that she wasn't easily broken. She was resilient, and she knew how to heal.

She also made sure to keep eye contact as much as possible during the song. She was not able to threaten him into letting her go, and today she learned she wouldn't learn anything directly from him on how to leave. Nevertheless, she was not giving up. She would keep living for herself, not for Madara, no matter what he thought or did to her. She realized that she would have to use her dances as her way of openly defying him. She had no way to do it directly without gross and/or serious consequences.

The song ended softly and Temari contrasted it by dramatically spinning and closing the fan. She walked to the wall to place the fan on the floor when she heard a something shift near Madara. She turned to see him looking through one of the bags she first saw Zetsu bring.

"Take off your uchikake." She did and placed it along the wall. "Come here." Temari knew he was about to do something horrible to her again. She was still sore from last night and she could barely bring herself to move. She finally reached Madara and stood before him. His hand went between the folds in her kimono and traveled up her leg. "You are so warm. It's hard to believe." He reached her inner thigh and she took a step back. He grabbed her thigh and told her to stay still.

He pulled out a long length of rope and motioned for her to turn around. She felt him pull on her kimono as a sign she should kneel. He started rubbing her neck and he could tell she wanted to move away. He pushed down her kimono exposing her shoulders and a bit of cleavage. He kissed and nibbled her shoulder blades while guiding her arms behind her. He stopped to tie her forearms together so her fingers reached her elbows.

He tied another rope above her breasts around her chest and arms and connected that rope to her forearms. He picked her up over his shoulder and carried her and the duffel to the bedroom. She bounced a bit when he tossed her on the bed and he was over her in an instant.

"Madara, whatever I did, please, let's just go to sleep." His hand found her underwear, and he ran his fingers along her until he found what he was looking for. He pinched her most sensitive part hard making Temari yelp in pain.

"It's Madara _-sama_. Did you like that?"

"No!" He caught her mouth with his while it was open and licked all around the inside of her mouth. His fingers pushed aside her panties and he continued to rub her. Temari threatened to bite down on his tongue and she struggled to kick him anywhere that would make him stop touching her.

"That's enough of this." He reached into the bag and pulled out more rope. He tied the rope through some of the bed's Uchiha fan cutouts and then tied her ankles shoulder width apart. Madara looked down on her and smirked. "I hope your energy's up because it is going to be a long, long night."


	9. Left for Dead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: There are some non-consensual sex acts that happen in this chapter.

* * *

 

Kankurou, Kiba, and Shino were on their way to find Gaara while Akamaru went to find Hana and Tsume. Kankurou caught a glimpse of red hair amongst the crowd and headed straight for it.

"Gaara! Gaara!" Gaara turned towards his brother's voice and did not show his surprise to see Shino accompanying him and Kiba. "Gaara, are you on your way to meet with the Kage?"

"Yes, I am. What did you find out?"

"I think we should talk somewhere a bit more private. I wanted to tell you before your meeting but I think that it's important enough to share with the other kage as well."

"I don't have time before the meeting, but if you think it's that important come along with me. You can share it with all of us at the same time."

Gaara was once again the last one to enter the meeting. A was the first to speak up.

"I think we all know why we're here. Yamato has been recovered. I never met him, but I do remember him being on the traveling turtle island with Naruto and my brother before the Akastuki snatched him. I don't want to be here all evening, so I'll get to the point. Is he healthy enough to be interrogated?"

Shizune stood up to speak. "It seems that he could withstand a friendly one. Anything involving extensive questioning sessions is out of the question for at least another twenty-four hours."

"Well we'll do that then. I'll oversee this myself. Of course, I'll have the head of the intelligence division, Aoba, present as well. His mind probe will be very useful. Now let's all outline what we would like us to ask him."

They spent the next hour and a half going over every ounce of information they might be able to get from him and settled on a rather long list. A and Aoba would record as much as they could from him and then bring it back to the group to discern what they could and could not trust. A was ready to dismiss the meeting when Gaara cleared his throat. "Is there something you'd like to add, Gaara?"

"Yes, I'm sure you all have noticed some new additions to our meeting this evening." He motioned to his brother, Kiba, and SHino. "Kankurou has informed me that they have something to share about the disappearance of my sister."

A interjected before Kankurou had a chance to speak. "Kazekage, I understand what it's like to lose a sibling to the Akatsuki without confirmation of a body. But I don't think that now is the time to worry about your beloved sister. One missing kunoichi will not turn the tide in this war. It doesn't matter whether she's your sister or not. I suggest you make peace with the matter and move on to something more important. I'm sure that you can find something to preoccupy your mind with the many divisions you're over."

Kankurou's face turned a mix of purple and red, "I'm not exactly sure-"

"I have to agree with the Raikage." Onoki spoke up. "Now is not the time to worry about personal problems. We all understand your anguish but there is a time and place for everything. You are young and new to the loss involved in war. It will soon pass."

Kankurou couldn't hold his voice any longer, "This is ridiculous. How dare you insinuate-"

"Kankurou, drop it." Gaara gave his brother an intimidating look and Kankurou's shoulders dropped in resignation. "I will be talking with my brother, Kiba, and Shino about their discovery involving Temari. If you wish to stay you are welcome, otherwise everyone is free to go." Kankurou fumed as he watched everyone but the shinobi from Konoha, Darui, and Mifune leave the tent.

He turned to Darui and asked, "Why are you staying?" Darui shrugged and remained silent. Kankurou turned to Mifune, "And you?"

"Every soldier is important. I also respect you very much, Kankurou. I care to hear what you have to say." Kankurou nodded to him and muttered an apology.

"Okay Kankurou, tell us what you've found out about our sister." Kankurou turned to Kiba and gave him a nod.

Kiba stood and enthusiastically told the room what he and Akamaru found on the fan and headband. He looked around the room and was pleased to see faces as confused as he was by the information.

Shino spoke up, "Of course this could all mean nothing. Temari was involved in the initial battle against Madara, and she could have picked up his scent there. And we've all had extensive contact with the Zetsus infiltrating our ranks." Heads began to nod around the table when a voice broke through.

"No."

Gaara looked to Naruto, "'No' to what, Naruto?"

"No to everything Shino just said. I was paying attention to everything at that battle and at no point did Temari actually come in physical contact with Madara. She only blew him away with her fan, so how could his scent get on her headband? And there were no Zetsu spies in the Gaara's division. I don't know why, but there were none at that battlefield."

"So why is Madara's scent on her headband?" asked Sakura.

"Sorry, but could she have been working with him all along." Everyone's head snapped towards Darui. "What? It's an explanation. Sorry."

Shikamaru sighed, "There's no way Temari was a traitor. Madara has either handled her headband or has been close enough to it to hold it."

Sakura fought the urge to hit Shikamaru over the head. "That tells us nothing. Even if it's true that Madara has handled her headband  _or_ has been close enough to handle it, why would he? It makes no sense." They all sat in a contemplative silence until it Kakashi spoke up.

"It is getting late. I suggest we all go about our business and if anything comes to mind we'll share it after the Kage meeting tomorrow." Everyone nodded in agreement, but Kankurou was clearly not satisfied.

* * *

It was the third time Z knocked on the bathroom door. "Temari, it's time you come out now. I think you're clean enough." Temari shuddered at his last sentence. She didn't  _feel_  clean enough. She turned off the shower and tried to avoid her image in the mirror. She knew her body was bruised and she didn't need to see it reflected back to her. On top of the bruises from before, her ankles still had marks and open cuts from the ropes that tied her down, and she had a hand shaped bruise complete with fingernail scratches on her right thigh. She had scratches and bite marks all down her legs, and she was sore all over.

Just as she reached for the door she caught her eyes in the mirror and froze. The woman looking back at her was not Temari. This could not be her life. She should not be here. She should not be that man's  _entertainment._  She was better than this. How could everything she lived through lead to this?

This would be her sixth day missing, almost a week, and she was no closer to escaping than her first day there. She let go of the door when she realized that she was actually farther from escaping than when she first arrived.

The first two days she could at least wear her own clothes. Madara had been menacing, but he was still dead. Back then there was no physical desire in him, nothing like last night. The vile feeling of him came back to her and she raced to the toilet only to dry heave.

"Temari, moving around will help you feel better. And Madara has given me permission to heal you." She looked towards the door and wondered if she could manage to never leave the bathroom. She knew that she would have to leave eventually though. She wrapped the robe around her tightly and opened the door.

Z smiled at her and turned towards the bedroom. She squinted her eyes and realized that she really should kill Z. He was just an extension of Madara. Anything he did was by Madara's will not his own. She could never hope to manipulate him with his extreme loyalty.

"I don't need you to heal me. I don't want you to touch me. I'm fine as I am." She followed him to the room in order to get her clothes.

"Of course you don't need it. He wants your skin to be clean again. You do have pretty skin when it's not all purple and yellow looking. Come lay on the bed, and I'll get rid of all the marks."

"I said no. If he didn't want marks on my skin he shouldn't have made them. He can just wait until I heal naturally. If he doesn't want to touch me like this then I truly hope these bruises never go away."

"Don't be so stubborn, Temari. Just lay on the bed. I promise that I'll be quick."

"I don't want you to touch me. Now give me my clothes, and leave me alone."

"Fine. I'm going to fix lunch today so you can just practice until I bring you your kimono to change into. He wants a belly dance tonight, so have one ready." Z was almost out of the room when Temari stopped him.

"Where are my clothes?"

"I told you yesterday, you don't need any clothes until you see Madara for lunch." Z left Temari alone in the room.  _That was easy. It seems that I can tell Z whatever I want and he won't try to force me. That's definitely a good thing to know._

She looked around the room and saw some of the rope used to tie her on the floor. She picked it up and meditated on it.

She hated that piece of rope. She remembered how hard she struggled against it as Madara touched and bit her from her toes to her thighs up to her breasts. She started to destroy one of the tools used to keep her submissive when she paused.

Why couldn't she turn this into her tool? She needed to find a place to hide it. She scanned the room and nothing stuck out to her. She thought about the other rooms she had access to and nowhere came to mind.

_Come on, Temari, think! I need a place where Z or Zetsu won't stumble onto it while they're cleaning._ Her eyes went to the bed.  _No, they might find it when they're making the bed or changing the sheets._  She looked over to the shallow pit of blankets and pillows. She walked over and picked up a pillow flipping it over to inspect it. She took the pillow out of its decorative case and pulled the zipper on one side and found a cottony stuffing.  _This will have to do._

She folded the rope and tried to surround it with the stuffing. She had just put the pillow back in its case when Z came in. "Temari, do you want me to bring the music player in here or are you going to go practice your dance before you actually have to change?"

"No, I'm coming. I just needed to calm down. I'm coming now."

* * *

Mifune met with Okisuke, his trusted friend and comrade from the Land of Iron, for breakfast the next day and shared what he learned in the meetings. Mifune had come to like Kankurou and Gaara and voiced his concern for the small family.

Okisuke agreed with him, "Yes, she was the one with the fan at the Kage Summit, correct?" Mifune gave a curt nod. "Yes, one doesn't always see siblings as close as they were. I can only hope the same for my own children." Mifune nodded again and began to clean his area. "She was also rather attractive in a dangerous sort of way. That soldier she helped save couldn't stop talking about her for weeks."

Mifune had his tray in his hand when he froze. "What did you just say?"

"Just that I hope my own children can be like them when they grow up."

"No, after that." Okisuke's scarf hid his light blush well.

"Oh,  _I_  don't like her or anything. It's just that some of the soldiers thought she was rather appealing. I'm sure none of them meant anything by it. It's just they rarely see fresh faces. Half of them went on about the Mizukage and the other half went on about the Kazekage's sister. Although I will admit that her outfit was a bit small for the mountains. She seems like she'd be quite the little vixen but definitely not my type."

Mifune stared at Okisuke for a moment and then burst with laughter. Okisuke quickly got up and tried to calm Mifune. This sight of his extremely serious superior laughing proved very unsettling. "Mifune, what's wrong? Are you Okay? It's not that funny you know. They don't really like her like that." Mifune's laugh died down as he returned to his normal self. Okisuke followed him continuing to assure him that no one would really pursue either the Mizukage or Temari. But Mifune was more occupied with what his new revelation would mean for the young family.

Finally Okisuke just gave up and went about his duties for the day, while Mifune continued on to the Kage meeting.

* * *

Temari had no idea how she was going to use the rope she found but hiding it managed to lift her spirits. She actually started to feel some control in her life again. This was the second thing today that she was able to determine, and it made practicing a dance she would be forced to perform a little easier.

Every few moves she would imagine Madara sitting in front of her watching every part of her body and she couldn't go on. The only way she could rid herself of his image was to instead picture the pillow hiding the rope and then the rope around his neck. She closed her eyes and only thought of the square white pillow covered in shimmering teal silk with gold tassels.

She managed to piece something together by the time Z brought her a kimono for lunch.

"Z, can you step out while I change please? I'm not used to getting dressed in here and I'm definitely not used to you watching."

"What does it matter if I watch you? I'm not Madara, and if I were I could just  _make_  you change in front of me."

"I just don't want you to watch me. Is that going to be a problem for you?"

"Oh no, not for me. I'll leave; just open the door when you're ready for your obi."

"Thank you, Z." She put on the plain soft indigo kimono and opened the door for Z to tie on a white and silver obi. "Where has Zetsu been? I haven't seen him for a while."

"He's been busy, but I'll tell him you asked. I know he'll appreciate your concern."

"It's not concern. I'm just hoping he's not hibernating inside the bathroom wall or something."

"Well, just have a seat. I'll bring in the food, and Madara will be here soon."

Temari sat and waited. Madara came into the room followed by Z. He quickly put on her collar before sitting down. She waited for Z to leave before moving again. She could feel him staring at her and she could hardly fidget in the slim kimono. After an uncomfortable moment she reached to prepare his plate and was startled by his hand around her wrist. She looked up at him and tried to pull back her arm but his grip didn't slacken.

"I heard that you haven't been a good girl today, Temari. Tell me, why should I let you eat?"

"I don't care if you do or don't. It would be fine with me if I leave you to yourself for lunch and dinner today. It would just make my day that much better."

"Why didn't you let Z heal you?"

"Because I didn't want him touching me, that's why. If you didn't want me all bruised and scratched then you shouldn't have done it in the first place." He tightened his hand and Temari could feel her wrist begin to give.

"Stop! You're going to break my wrist." Temari winced from the pain.

"I guess I have to do more damage before you let Z heal you." Temari gasped in pain as he broke her wrist with one swift motion. "Are you ready to be healed now?"

She willed the pain to the back of her mind and grinned. "No."

Madara saw the bright glint of defiance in her eyes and smiled back. He traded her limp wrist for her neck and pulled her to her feet. "I'm willing to guess that you would have to be near death for you to willingly let Z heal you, and even then you may not let him. I guess you leave me no choice but to take it out of your hands. Z, get in here." The grip on her neck tightened as he lifted her over the table. Madara found that he thoroughly enjoyed the small sounds she made as he choked her.

Madara threw her, and she landed hard at Z's feet. She gasped for air and coddled her wrist. She hissed in pain as Madara roughly turned her on her stomach to undo her obi. It felt like all of her weight landed on her wrist. The throbbing pain preoccupied her until she felt her obi being pulled off. "No, please, not again." He flipped her on her back and slowly opened her kimono.

"Don't do what again? Tell me what I'm doing to you." He saw that she was avoiding his face and smirked. "Tell me."

"Don't...rape me again. I-I'll let Z heal me. Just leave me alone." The kimono was open now and Temari tried to cover her chest while Madara traced some of the bruises along her body.

"Why are you still so shy? I've already seen everything about you."

"If you've already seen everything, why do you keep looking?" He painfully yanked her arms to her side causing more than a bit of pain to Temari.

"I think you need to learn how to relax. Z, bring me the bar. I'm going to calm Temari down. I find it immeasurably interesting that you would rather deal with physical pain than my..." His hand wandered to her chest and gently cupped her breast. "…loving touch." He leaned down and licked her ear, not missing the pained look on her face. He whispered in her ear, "Do I disgust you, Temari?"

Of course she found him disgusting. His touch was nauseating, and his gaze made her skin crawl. However, she wasn't about to tell him what she really thought. She stayed quiet, avoided his eyes, and just hoped for him to be done quickly.

"Hmm? Do I sicken you?" He continued to lick and nibble on her ear. "Answer me." He bit down hard on her earlobe, and she let out a small startled cry. "Answer me, or I'll make you regret it."

Temari turned away from him as his mouth traveled from her ear to her cheek leaving a trail of saliva. She knew she would regret it, but she decided to answer him truthfully. "You are worse than a camel in heat. I hate you." Z entered the room at that moment and Madara left her on the floor.

"Come back when I call you again." Z left as Madara tauntingly twirled the metal bar with cuffs on the end. He secured each ankle in a cuff and then adjusted the length spreading her legs to an uncomfortable width. "You really are pretty, inside and out, but I wonder if you will taste as good down here as you look."

Temari's eyes widened at his insinuation. She attempted to scoot away but his hold on the bar held her in place. She sat up and tried to cover herself with her hand and the kimono. Madara eased himself between her legs before yanking both her hand and the kimono away. He pushed her on her back and lowered his mouth to the mound between her legs. She heard him take a deep breath and move even closer to her. "Who would have guessed a girl like you could smell this sweet?"

Temari froze when she felt a broad lick. He continued to lick her as he spread her inner folds with his fingers. Temari's mind and body were thrown into an intense state of confusion. She had no idea what to do. This didn't hurt like everything else he did to her, but it was just as mentally anguishing. He felt revolting and wet. She could hear the sounds his tongue made and she had never wanted to deaf more in her life. Worst of all, it tickled in a really good way. Madara found her clitoris and lightly sucked on it. He was tame and slow using just the right amount of pressure.

Temari felt hot and flushed. She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. It was getting more and more shallow and a fine sweat broke out all over her body. Temari had never had an orgasm before, but she could guess that was where this was heading. It felt good. It felt too good, and she didn't want any it. She did not want Madara to steal her first orgasm. He already knew her in the throes of pain caused by him. She did not want him to see her in turmoil over pleasure caused by him. If one could even call this pleasure.

Temari knew that her body was simply reacting to stimuli, but her mind was becoming so foggy that she couldn't block it out. Her nipples were aching, but she refused to give Madara the satisfaction of seeing her willingly caress herself. She felt a hand lightly slide up her stomach to her unbruised breast. His fingers felt like a blessing and for once his touch wasn't harsh. She couldn't hold back a low moan, and she could feel the smirk on Madara's face.

She squeezed her eyes closed tighter as she tried to imagine anyone but him doing this to her. So she made him a man hidden by darkness with no face and no features. It was a dream. She could deal with a dream. She could understand a dream man that didn't exist. She whimpered softly as she felt a new wetness leave her. Deep vibrations from Madara's voice made her heart jump, but she couldn't understand his words.

Madara slid two fingers inside her as he worked on her clitoris. He leisurely teased her while his fingers curved inside of her making sure he stimulated every part of her he could reach. Her back arched involuntarily and she quietly cried out as she felt an incredible wave of pleasure go throughout her body. Her hands clenched into fists and an acute pain radiated from her wrist at the unexpected action. But it didn't stop her from feeling a form of ecstasy unknown to her before.

Her body finally calmed down and she let out a deep breath. She languidly opened her eyes and was confronted with dark eyes and a smug smirk. "Did you like that?" There were many things that Temari regretted in her life, but there was nothing that compared to this. She was so ashamed. How could she actually allow herself to feel that kind of sensuality at the hands of this monster?

"You know I didn't. God, I hate you. You are a horrible, cruel man, and you made me-" She started to turn her head but Madara captured her lips in his. She could taste what could only be herself on him and she tried to push him off her with her good hand.

"You're lying. Can't you taste the proof that you enjoyed every second of it? You belong to me completely. I can make you do anything whether you want to or not. So if I want your body marked or unmarked it is up to me. If I want you in agony from pain or from ecstasy is entirely up to me. Although, I would have never guessed you'd be so...responsive to that last little act. I'm having a tough time deciding whether I like you quivering in fear or satisfaction." He kissed her again deeply while holding her in place with his weight. Temari tried to voice her protest but he only used it as an opportunity to probe her mouth farther. "Do I still disgust you?"

She gasped for breath and said an airy yes. Madara chuckled and rolled off of her and sat by her side. She wanted to get his attention off of her at any cost, so she sat up and asked, "What happened to your eyes? They look normal now."

His chuckle became louder as he looked over at her. "Honestly, I've found that I no longer need to use them to intimidate you. I have eyes more powerful than you could imagine. But for a little girl like you, a girl who moans from a flick of my tongue and flinches from the thought of me inside her, my powerful eyes are completely unnecessary. Z, come in here." Z entered almost immediately. "Heal her and then bring me a plate in the library. She isn't going to be eating today, but she will still prepare a light dinner for me."

Temari felt too exhausted to fight over Z healing her. She just laid back down and tried to go to sleep as the calming green healing chakra swept over her body. She didn't know how long it took him but she eventually fell asleep.

* * *

A once again began the kage meeting and went into great detail about his time with Yamato. Over the course of an hour they all basically realized that more intensive interrogative techniques would be required to get any real information from him. For most of his time with the Akatsuki he was unconscious and any useful information he had would most likely be latent.

However they were all in agreement that he would not yet be allowed to leave his tent, but he could have visitors.

As the meeting wound down, Mifune began to shake his head again at his own revelation. Onoki turned to him and asked what was wrong. "I have come to a revelation concerning Gaara and Kankurou's dilemma concerning the location of their sister. I'm willing to share it now, however I recognize it is in the shinobi nature to not want to hear things they have no interest in." He turned to Gaara, "Are we still going to discuss the surprising discovery made by Kiba yesterday?" With that everyone who was not present the day before left once again leaving the sand siblings, Darui, Mifune, and the Konoha ninja.

Gaara turned to Mifune, "I would very much like to know what you found out."

"I'm sorry, Kazekage. I forgot for a moment that we were in fact talking about a young girl in  _serious_  danger. This morning at breakfast I was talking to a close friend from the Land of Iron and he reminded me of something you shinobi often forget. It would seem to explain your findings and the possible whereabouts of your sister."

Kankurou stood up and slammed his fist on the table. "If you think you know where Temari is then spill it now!"

"That is exactly why I need everyone to calm down and listen carefully to what I'm about to say. No matter how angry it will make you," he gave a pointed look to Kankurou and a small one to Gaara, "or how much it may confuse you." He looked over to the Konoha shinobi.

"I come from a land devoid of shinobi, so I sometimes find your ways a bit strange. However one thing will always remain the same no matter what culture you're from. Am I right in thinking that Temari is the young lady who accompanied the Kazekage to the Land of Iron for the Kage Summit?" Kankurou practically growled an affirmative response. "I've heard that she made quite the impression on some of my samurai."

"What are you trying to say Mifune?" Gaara asked, his impatience also beginning to surface.

"I'm just saying that a pretty young girl, who is strong and capable, will catch anyone's attention. If you add in that her brothers are also incredibly dangerous you get an attractive yet very unapproachable girl." Gaara and Kankurou were both still clearly confused but practically every other male in the room seemed to come to a simultaneous understanding.

Kakashi decided to take over. "Gaara, Kankurou, what I think Mifune is trying to say is that shinobi sometimes forget that we are all...human...with...human desires." Kakashi turned to Sakura hoping that perhaps she might be able to put it more delicately, but she looked just as lost as the Suna shinobi. He turned to Naruto and saw the same clueless look on his face as well.

Kakashi looked amongst the other faces and everyone but Mifune avoided him. He let out a frustrated sigh before continuing, "Kankurou, what do you think of...Ino, or Tenten, or any girl from Konoha?"

Kankurou got a stupid smile on his face with a faraway look, "Hehehe, why do you want to know, old man?"

"I don't. Just tell me."

"Well, Konoha has some pretty hot kunoichi."

"What makes them 'hot?'"

Kankurou shrugged, "I don't know. They're girls. They're all very good-looking, and strong, and kind, and...well, just different. What does that have to do with anything though?" Kakashi saw Gaara nod his head in agreement. He also saw Sakura blush at the compliment and then darken at the realization.

"Are they different from girls from Suna?"

"I guess. What do you think, Gaara?"

"I think that this needs to have a point about my sister. Yes, girls from Konoha are very different. Very different from Temari, and yet Temari is missing. Are you trying to say that Konoha kunoichi are better than my sister?" A concurrent and eerily similar glare came across both brothers' faces as they felt Temari's skills were being challenged.

Shikamaru decided to step in. "Kankurou, what do you think about me?"

"You already know. I'm not going to cause an international incident by voicing my piss-poor opinion of you."

"Why don't you like me?"

"Because you're a lazy good-for-nothing who's always around when I don't want to see you."

"Think hard, when do you see me and you want me gone?"

"Well you hang around Ino entirely too much for my comfort. You're just always getting in my way."

Shikamaru sighed in defeat. "Describe Ino."

"Hot, blonde, smokin' body, cute voice, bad choice in friends and crushes."

"Well I think Temari is hot, blonde, has a 'smokin' body,' and has a smoldering voice."

"I'm going to kill you, you shadow freak." Kankurou got ready to pounce on him when Shino stepped forward as well.

"I completely agree with Shikamaru. Temari is very attractive. There is something very exotic about her that intrigues me as one from the leaf."

"I'm just going to have to kill both of you then." Kiba placed his hand on Kankurou's shoulder.

"Stop. I consider you a friend and I'm just going to state it plainly. Madara is from a very different time in Konoha history, and your sister can be very…stimulating. Dude, it's perfectly normal for you to not agree with us. But  _because_  she's your sister no one has probably ever talked to you about her before. Hell, no one's probably ever even talked to her about it with you two hanging around all the time. To an ancient shinobi from Konoha your foreign sister probably looked like easy pickings. There's a distinct possibility that he...took Temari."

"What do you mean 'took Temari?'"

Kakashi decided to take over again, "He means that Madara may have Temari in his hideout for his own purposes." With a swirl of sand Gaara left the tent. Naruto got up to go after him and Kakashi let him go.

"'His own purposes?' You mean he's torturing her for information or something?"

Kakashi stood as he yelled, "Kankurou! I mean that Madara is a very evil man, but a man nonetheless. As hard as it is for you to comprehend, your sister  _is_  an attractive girl. He may have taken Temari and is holding her somewhere. It's true that we don't know if she's dead, but if you think she's still alive then you must understand that a man like Madara will not keep her alive just to take up space. She is serving a purpose for him. Like us, he's waiting for that damn tree to bloom, and, unlike us, he probably has a lot more free time at his disposal. Now-" Kankurou held up his hand.

"My sister is not 'free time!'" He slammed his fists on the table unable to look at anyone. "No one knows if any of this is true, so none of this will leave this tent. I MEAN IT. I won't have people talking about my sister behind my back, especially with nothing confirmed. I'm going to go find Gaara, but I would appreciate it if you all put some thought in how this information could help us find and defeat that Uchiha bastard and get my sister. I'll talk to you all later."

Kankurou left leaving the Konoha shinobi, Mifune, and Darui. No one spoke deciding to let the moment sink in. Sakura was the first to break the silence. "Uh, Kakashi-sensei, do you really think that Temari is still alive?"

"I don't know, Sakura. I did not know her well, and I did not investigate her disappearance. I will say that I don't believe that she is a traitor. So if she isn't dead, she's being held against her will. Kiba and Shikamaru are the best ones to ask at the moment. It's what Kiba smelled that put us on this path, and Shikamaru knew her best out of all the Konoha shinobi."

"But, do you really think that something like this could really happen? I've never heard of anything like this happening in any other shinobi war." Sakura continued to shake her head as she spoke.

"Ah, well no, it hasn't as far as I can remember, at least, not in such a prominent manner. Even the worst kinds of shinobi aren't often known to take women in this manner, but Madara is from a time of clan warfare. It wasn't very common then either, but it certainly wasn't unheard of for a clan to take women in order to increase their numbers. To Madara, the idea may not be as…disgusting as it is to us. To him the fact that she is not from Konoha or from an obvious clan may have made it a lot easier."

Shino stood to leave. "I suggest we take Kankurou's advice. Right now we are all a bit shocked at this revelation. I also do not wish to talk about it any longer. Why, because it is a horrible thing to linger on. A shinobi like Temari does not deserve whatever has befallen her and I hope that we can save her and the rest of the shinobi world from the machinations of Madara. Excuse me." Shino bowed and left the tent. Kiba soon followed and eventually only Mifune and Darui were left.

Mifune didn't look towards Darui when he asked him, "Are you going to tell the Raikage what you learned here?"

Darui didn't answer him right away. He looked down at Mifune for a few moments before saying, "I don't believe this is something I can keep from the boss. However, I can wait a few days for the Yamato interrogation to finish before I tell him." Darui pushed his chair away from the table for a moment before finally leaving the tent.

Mifune too decided that he wouldn't share what he may have learned here immediately, but he did perform a quick prayer for the fair-haired kunoichi.

* * *

Temari took a deep breath outside the door to the entertaining room. On the other side of the door Madara was waiting for her to dance for him. She looked down at herself and seriously contemplated turning around. She was once again gussied up for this sick man and this time she literally had no other purpose than to entertain him.

She could feel a cavity growing deep in her chest. With each act she was forced to do, she could feel it grow larger and she felt herself becoming emptier each hour. She quickly wondered if it was possible for her to no longer be considered a person, because at this rate she would be little more than a human doll. That thought made her lower her head a few more inches. What did she do in her life to deserve this? She felt her throat tighten and her eyes begin to water.

Tears never used to come so easily to her. It's true she hadn't actually started crying but even the feeling of them gathering in her eyes was enough to alert her to a serious change in her psyche.

_Temari, get a hold of yourself. I cannot give in to depression. I have to be better than this. I can't let him win this fight too. If I give up hope about my situation, then I really will have no reason to keep on going. I have to have faith that I will get out of here. If I can't escape, then someone will eventually come. No, I_ know _my brothers will come for me. I just have to keep my spirits high. No matter what this man makes me do I won't let him make me lose my will to keep living._

"How long are you going to stand out there? Get in here and take your seat." Temari raised her head and sat across from him.

She felt a chill cross her stomach and she wasn't sure if it was from Madara or the room. Her shirt was just a fabric bikini top. It was a dark burgundy lined with small bronze beads that dangled along the triangular frame. The straps were a thin metallic like ribbon and nothing about it felt secure. A bronze ring connected the fabric in the center and long thin strands of beads hung from it forming a point right above her navel.

Her skirt was made of long pieces of black, burgundy, and dark gold fabric that revealed her legs with every movement. Where they were connected was hidden by a dark gold metal belt made of large embellished squares and circles connected by stones around her hips.

Temari understood that this type of outfit was made to reveal more than it was to actually clothe her, but it was the adornments that bothered her the most.

A wide burgundy strip of fabric decorated with gold beads and charms served as a headband. Round embossed golden amulets with rubies hanging from them hung from the band across her forehead. Behind the headband Z added two wide gaudy golden fan-like embellishments that almost completely framed her head.

Her earrings were long golden ornate contraptions that attached to her cartilage and earlobes. She also wore a large sprawling necklace that looked like it belonged in a museum. It too was gold and decorated with rubies and diamonds. It was heavy and felt uncomfortable tight around her neck. She didn't complain too much because it meant she didn't have to wear her collar, but in the back of her mind she knew it was just an exchange of one collar for another.

She had innumerable bracelets and rings on along with anklets and even toe rings. She felt silly and garnished like another dish served on his table. That was what made her situation seem so much worse. There wasn't much she could do to fight off Madara's advances. In fact, there was nothing she could really do to go against his wishes, but she would decidedly combat this attempt to take away her humanity. She wondered if he felt this way about all women or just her.

She prepared his plate and watched the table while he ate. "Madara-sama, did you treat all the women you liked this way?"

Madara smirked between bites. "I have never met a girl like you before, and I plan on spending the rest of my life with you. So of course I will treat you differently." Temari felt her head swim from his words.

"So you've actually decided that I won't be put under your genjutsu? I'm not just here until the tree blooms?"

"Was my little one worried that she would get the same fate as the rest of this weak shinobi world?" He gave a small snort before continuing, "I've told you that you and I were fated to be together. Even inside the dreams of the world I will make you mine. Anyone who would dare to even hope of a relationship with you will be severely disappointed." Temari stared at him straight on trying to make him understand what she was about to say was very serious.

"You must realize this by now, but I'm going to say it very plainly so there's no mistake. I have no amorous feelings for you. I  _truly_  despise you and everything about you. I hate it when you look at me, let alone touch me. I hate how you force your will on me every minute of the day. I just...hate you. Nothing you make me do will ever change this, and yet you insist that we're some kind of soul mates. Do you understand that I have feelings that deserve to be respected? Do you understand that you are trapping me in a life of slavery?" He slammed his chopsticks on the table and Temari steeled herself for whatever was coming her way.

"We will not have this conversation again. I don't give a damn how you feel about it, and I will not hear anything else about you and your  _feelings_  one more time. I promise you that if I do that I will personally make sure one of your siblings pays for it. Do not test me on this." Temari was prepared for a threat on her own life, but not her brothers'. She didn't even bother to hide the worry it caused her. "You are not at all how I would've predicted after out little session this morning. You must really think that all of this is just temporary. Well I will tell  _you_  something plainly.

"You will NEVER leave here of your own will. There is no escape. I know you're holding on to some fantasy of finding a magical door or something, but give it up. And no one will come to rescue you. I can see it in your eyes that you don't truly believe that. You think that your brothers would never give up on you, don't you? DON'T YOU?" Temari continued to stare at him with every ounce of malice she could gather. "Answer me!"

"Yes, I know they will come for me." Madara guffawed at her before picking his chopsticks back up.

"Why would they come for a corpse? Everyone thinks you're dead. They have already found your damaged fan, shinobi headband, and blood. What other conclusion could they draw?" He saw her falter in her conviction. "You didn't think I would have some sort of plan in place for you? You are dead. One of the many lives lost to the war. Even if they didn't want to believe in your demise what could the other options be? You ran away in cowardice? I doubt people would willingly believe that, which only leaves your death as the only reasonable option." He saw her hands twist the fabric of her skirt and smiled more.

"No one would believe that I would have any interest in an insignificant kunoichi like you. And that's just what you are to them. Insignificant. Your absence will barely cause a stir. You should be thanking me for even recognizing your presence. I'm the  _only_ person who took more than a passing glance at you.  _I'm_ the only one who saw you as more than just a shinobi willing to give your life for a village. Look at yourself. Really, stand up and look at yourself."

Temari's fists were wringing her skirt as she focused all of her energy on Madara. She felt like a hurricane was brewing inside of her. She wanted to scream and cry and punch everything in sight. Madara stood and roughly grabbed her arm. "I said to take a good look at yourself." He pulled her out the room and led her to the bathroom.

A part of the wall in the onsen section of the bathroom was a ceiling to floor mirror. Madara pulled her in front of it yelled, "Look at yourself. Tell me what you see." Temari remained stoic and glared at Madara through the mirror in the steamy room. He roughly shook her and pulled her in front of him. He held both of her shoulders and asked again, "What do you see?"

She finally answered him, "I see a woman held hostage by a madman." Madara's laugh was so manic that Temari's eyes gave away a bit of her apprehension.

"I'll tell you what I see then. I see a beautiful and enchanting Suna kunoichi, a kunoichi whose exquisiteness has gone unrecognized for far too long. You are athletic and feminine. You embody the desert in every way. You are distant and deadly, yet inviting; asking to be conquered by anyone with enough bravery and resolve. By me. Your eyes are the teal of oceans they yearn to see and the oases that give the desert reprieve. Your hair is the embodiment of the color of the sand and sun." Temari's eyes left his and slowly went to her own.

"And your nature is of the wind, as erosive as water and far less nurturing." His right hand moved slowly down her arm over to her stomach and pulled her against him. "You are not for the weak. You were made for strongest of the strong. You were made for me." Madara smiled as he watched a tear slowly leave her eye.

Temari turned away from the mirror and repeated, "I hate you."

Madara smirked and replied, "It's OK if you hate me. It's a part of what I like about you. But whether you hate me or not,  _I_  have you. Expect no one to come for you." His left arm moved across her breasts and held her firmly in place. "Now give me a dance before I take you right here and make you dance afterwards." Temari tried to leave but found his hold unrelenting.

"Let me go."

"Why?"

"So I can go dance for you." Madara picked her up supporting her legs and back before leaving the bathroom. Temari fought down her urge to struggle knowing it wouldn't do her any good. She just wanted to get this night over with. She wanted to get her life over with. Madara carried her to the small stage and carefully placed her on her feet. He held her in a strong embrace with her face pressed to his chest. One arm stayed across her shoulder blades while the other slowly wandered to her bare waist.

He stayed that way caressing her smooth skin for a few moments. He lowered his head to her ear before telling her, "I expect to want you even more after this dance. Don't disappoint me." He slowly dropped his arms and took his seat facing her. Temari stood where he left her too disturbed to move. Madara cleared his throat and Temari felt the cavern in her chest get a little larger as she walked over to the music player.

* * *

Gaara found himself outside of the encampment as close to the Shinju tree as he would venture. He looked up at this symbol of the end and wondered in the land of dreams his sister would be happy. This world had only proven to be one struggle after another.

As someone who was considered an evil of the world only a few years ago he had an interesting perspective on good and evil. Most of what people considered bad in this world was just a person putting their goals and ambitions before  _everything_ else. A deep narcissus that refused to acknowledge others right to live the way they pleased.

But this was beyond anything Gaara had ever considered. If his sister was actually being held captive by Madara then what was the point. She would not help his goal proceed. She wouldn't make the tree bloom quicker.

Trying to trick us into thinking she was deceased would only have made them continue on with their plans. It wouldn't have postponed anything but a search for her.

_He's keeping her alive to suffer._   _Just to suffer. Is it because she's my sister? Was that why he picked her? Must my family continue to pay for my existence?_

He felt a presence behind him but chose not to acknowledge it. He tried to figure out how Madara could have known about Temari when a hand on his shoulder brought him out of his thoughts.

"Gaara, we'll get her back and kill Madara. She's strong, incredibly strong. I'm sure that she will be OK. No matter what happens to her, Temari will come out fine in the end. I promise that I won't give up on her."

"Thank you, Naruto. Temari was always glad that you were my friend."

"Yeah, I just wish I had managed to kill Madara before all of this happened."

"We all failed to kill Madara. Don't make him your burden alone."

"The same goes for Temari. I don't know why this is happening but I'm positive that Temari is glad it happened to her and not someone else."

"Hn, I can't help but wonder if I'm the cause of all of this. What if he's doing this only because she's my sister?"

"Don't think like that Gaara. I know  _you're_ not to blame for this. No one but Madara is responsible for this. Blaming yourself won't help anything but him. It seems to me, that there was no reason for this."

"Oi, he's right you know." They both turned to see Kankurou next to them. "If he did this for some sort of revenge there are plenty of people he could have picked other than Temari. I mean, Sakura, Shizune, or Mei would have been the obvious choice. He really is a madman to have picked Temari. I'm sure she's making him crazy by now." Kankurou let out a small chuckle. "We might even find her dropped off in front of your tent with a 'return to sender' note or something. She's really more trouble than she's worth."

"Shut up, Kankurou." Kankurou felt an aura from his brother that he hadn't felt in years. "She's worth more than everything. She doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her, and I'm going to find her."

* * *

Temari didn't know what exactly about her had changed, but at that moment she knew that this was no longer a battle with him. He had already won. Her only remaining fight was with herself. She could not let this emptiness inside her take over. She had to continue believing that her situation would eventually change. She had to hope that someone didn't really believe that she was dead.

She also knew that she had to express herself in the only outlet Madara allowed her. Keeping everything inside would make her emotions corrosive. So she took a deep breath and remembered why she picked the song as the music began to play.

[The song is "Savage Genetics" Dubstep Remix from the  _Silent Hill_ movie soundtrack. you tu. be / UEQEtk_ 8hSE (just take out the spaces.)]

Temari turned her back to Madara, closed her eyes, and focused only on the music. It felt like the music was literally moving her body and no effort was needed on her part. She opened her eyes and faced him at the first line in the song. She became lost in the song and continued to allow the music to guide her body.

The song ended and she felt as if her freedom had been snatched once again. Something in the back of her mind worried her that she was becoming too attached to dancing, but she waved it away. What was left for her to do, but to dance and enjoy it on some level?

She continued to stand in front of Madara unwilling to help the night continue on to its inevitable conclusion. She would stand there all night if it meant not going to his bed.

"That was excellent, Temari. You did not disappoint me." He began walking out of the room. "I have a few things I need to take care of Z will meet you in the bedroom."

Temari didn't move. She continued to stand there until Z finally came to get her.

Instead of leading her to the bedroom however, he led her to the large bathroom. He handed her what looked like a mess of strings and a thin white crochet dress. "Change into this. You can leave what you're wearing in the smaller bathroom with the shower that you always use. After you change just have a seat and wait for Madara."

"Wait, you mean we're going to be in the bath together?"

"Calm down, he's giving you something to wear, and I personally oversaw the creation of this onsen. It's connected to a wonderful underground source of naturally heated water. I'm sure you'll find it extremely relaxing." He was already half-way out the door when he turned back to her. "Try not to take too long getting ready and leave your hair down." He shut the door and Temari could've sworn she heard it lock. Her sanity begged her to leave that query alone and she went to change into the swimsuit.

It was an extremely simple black string bikini that only covered what was necessary. She put on the sheer cover up and looked at herself in the mirror. The dress had bell sleeves and just barely covered her bottom. The neckline had a deep V with a long tie string going across it. She looked at her face and barely recognized herself. Her hair always stuck out at odd angles unless it was drenched and she thought she resembled one of those people who live on the beach without a care their whole life.

She started to think about what life may have been like for her and her siblings if they lived near the ocean instead of in the desert when she heard Madara walk in. She followed his reflection in the mirror as he walked straight past her to the stone bench carved out the wall. She turned away from him as he undressed and wrapped a towel around himself.

"Fill this bucket with water and bring it to me." His voice filled the large room and Temari almost jumped from it. She sat the now filled bucket by his feet and stepped back as he began to ladle the water over him.

Temari had avoided actually looking at him this whole time choosing to instead stare at the small waterfall that fed the onsen its water. She heard him stand up and walk behind her to enter the large pool. She waited for the sound she dreaded and swallowed loudly when she heard his towel drop as he stepped into the pool.

"Get in." Temari stepped in but continued to avoid looking at him until he pulled her by her arm to sit next to him. That was when she saw his chest and pulled back with a scream.

"What the hell is that on your chest?!"

"Look at it." He grabbed her chin and turned her head back towards him. It looked like a pale sickly face was growing from Madara's chest and it made Temari sick. "This is the product of an experiment. This is Hashirama Senju's face, the first hokage of Konoha. I implanted his cells in my body in order to gain his power. This helped me defeat the shinobi of this time, and I'm proud of it. It won't move on its own but I can feel it as if it were my normal skin. Therefore  _do not_ avoid it. You avoid it, and you're avoiding me. I won't appreciate it. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

Temari tore her eyes from the horrendous face and nodded. "Yes, Madara-sama."

"Good. Now I just want to relax." He moved to the other side of the pool so that he was facing the mirror along the wall. "Temari, come here." She waded over to him and was more than surprised when she felt his leg swipe her off her feet. She went under with a big splash and regained her footing to see a smiling Madara.

"That wasn't funny."

"I think it was. I've wondered what you would look like completely wet and I have to say that it suits you in a strange way. Now come stand in front of me." Temari scowled at him before tentatively standing in front of him. She saw his eyes gain a suspicious gleam and she wanted to get away from him as quickly as possible.

Before she could flinch Madara grabbed her dress and pulled it over her head revealing the small bikini. Her skin started to feel clammy in the warm water and she lifted a foot to step back from him. He caught her arm and jerked her closer. "I want you to massage and kiss my chest." Her eyes widened and she instinctively shook her head.

"No, you can't make me do that. I won't." She tried to move away but Madara only held her tighter and smiled.

"I thought you might be that way." He twirled Temari around and held her against him. She could feel the small face on her shoulder and she tried to squirm away from it. "Patience Temari, you won't be feeling it for much longer." He pulled at a tie on her bikini bottoms and then the other before slowly peeling them off of her. Temari tried to squeeze her legs together but it didn't help. She started to feel a panic overwhelming her as his erection grew behind her.

"Madara-sama, I-I…If I kiss you, will you not do this tonight?" Madara slowly leaned next to her face and kissed her cheek before saying no.

"There's nothing you could do that would stop me from having you tonight. But perhaps you can try again tomorrow." He turned her head back towards him and gave her a long and fierce kiss. She barely noticed his hand move from her face to her hair until she felt a painful tug. "Take a deep breath."

Madara slammed her underwater and bubbles filled her sight. He held her down with one hand on her head and the other held her against his groin. She tried to push herself back up but it didn't work. She was the most uncomfortable in water and she tried to calm herself down until she felt an insistent prodding at her entrance.

She frantically grabbed the hand on her head trying to pull it off. Madara roughly entered her from behind and she let out more air than she could afford to lose. She would have never guessed it, but Madara forcing himself into her in the water was ten times worse than anything she would have imagined happening in the water. The water not only made her feel him more than she thought possible but it added an incredible amount of friction.

He harshly pounded into her. Every thrust stung and hurt. Her lungs were beginning to burn and she was swallowing water from each involuntary cry. She lifted her legs to try to kick the wall behind him when she felt a rush in her ears as Madara pulled her head out of the water.

She coughed and fought for air as he continued to plunge into her. He forcefully bent her arms behind her holding her arms together with one hand by her forearms. He walked her to the middle of the pool so if she tried to lift her feet she would find nothing but water.

He pushed her back underneath the water and continued his assault on her letting her up to breathe every minute or so. She was able to get more air each time, but it was never enough. She convulsively struggled each time she went under the water and more than once she thought she wouldn't make it back up. She was terrified of dying while he was still inside her and it only made her breathing more erratic.

She heard him talking throughout this form of torture but she couldn't understand what he was saying. His pace increased and his grip on her arms and hair tightened painfully as he pushed her beneath the water one last time.

She was running out of air again and realized that he wasn't letting her up like he had before. He was driving into her harder than before and every muscle in her body ached for air. She tried to thrash around but she just couldn't get out of his grasp. She was out of air and her chest felt like it was going to explode. She knew she would be crying if she weren't submerged and an especially hard thrust caused her to let out the last of her air.

There was only water and pain. Her throat and lungs began to burn as she swallowed and then breathed in the water. The pain from him began to dull as she felt him release himself in her. He remained in her and continued to hold her under water. She finally stopped struggling and felt a calm come over her. A warbled malicious laughter made it to her ears through the water. She intentionally swallowed more water. In that moment, she would rather drown than face the man who laughed at this.

She looked at the bottom of the pool and found herself lucky that his face wouldn't be the last thing she would see in this life. She let her mind wander to her home as her consciousness submitted to the darkness that overwhelmed her.


	10. Something's Not Right

Temari woke up lying on her side on the bathroom floor to a grating pain in her throat. She closed her eyes against the bright light above her and began to cough and vomit water and whatever little else was left in her stomach.

The pain in her throat was soon joined by her stomach cramping from the convulsive vomiting and a sudden pain in her head. She felt like she was about to die.

She slowly opened her eyes to allow them to adjust to the light, and everything that had just happened in the onsen came back to her in a flash. The memory caused her to take in a sharp breath which only made her choke more.

When her body finally calmed down she groaned and looked around. She turned towards the door and saw the cause of everything. His face gave away nothing but his eyes showed the dark amusement he felt. She tried to ask him why, but nothing came out but a throaty rasp.

He smirked and walked towards her. His black and white sandals were deafening as they clacked against the stone floor. She turned away from him as tears began to fall. She was certain that he had just tried to kill her and she was ashamed that she almost allowed it.

"I'm glad you're still with me. For a minute there I thought I lost you. Can you stand?" His voice held no sarcasm or malice but Temari didn't like something about the tone of it. His words were more than what they were, but she couldn't figure it out.

She turned away and tried to push herself off the floor. She was too weak and her mind was too flooded. She managed to get into a sitting position when she felt Madara reach under her arms to pick her up.

He put her over his shoulder and brought her to the small adjacent bathroom. He sat her on the closed toilet seat and leaned her against the back. The cold porcelain on her bare skin jolted her mind, and she sat up visibly more alert than before. Madara turned towards her and asked her how she felt.

"I'm fine. You don't need to put me in the shower." Her voice was raspy and pained. She moved to stand when Madara's hand stopped her. The shower pipes groaned as he added more cold water than usual getting the water to a lukewarm temperature.

"You do need to go in here. You've been vomiting on yourself." He lifted her and leaned her against the small shower’s wall as her removed her top, the last piece of clothing she had on. Temari instinctively tried to stop him but she was so weak that she couldn't even hold her arms up for more than a moment. She groaned and rolled her head against the wet wall wishing for unconsciousness again.

"Calm down. I'm just trying to clean you off. You're obviously not even strong enough to stand on your own. I would normally have one of the zetsus do this, but this is just easier right now." He pushed her underneath the showerhead and quickly washed and dried her off.

"How are you? Are you breathing okay?” She nodded. “Temari, I still don't trust you to sleep with me unrestrained. Tonight, even though you are exceptionally weak, you will be completely restrained." He put her in her bathrobe and carried her to his bed.

Z came in behind them carrying a bag filled with restraints and a short white nightgown. They dressed her before binding her arms behind her by cuffing her wrists and elbows together. Z tied her upper arms to her back as well.

Madara pulled out an array of straps and tightly fastened her legs together at the ankles, calves, and thighs. It could've been worse, so she decided to be quietly thankful for the way she was restrained.

She thought they were done but Madara tied one last rope around her waist so tightly that she found it uncomfortable to take a full breath. He tied it off in a knot and then tied it around her arms and waist again.

"That one is too tight."

"It's exactly how I want it. If you don't like it then you can prove to me that you won't try anything while I'm sleeping."

"Are you actually worried that I'm going to hurt you?"

Madara looked at her for a long while and then turned towards the door. "Absolutely not, but I don't want you to try. Even though you'd fail and I wouldn't mind having to reprimand you and your naughty behavior. I would much rather you accept this condition. You’ve been a really good girl so far, and I don’t want you to ruin it." Madara reached the door and turned around one last time, "Don’t abuse the fact that I’m not gagging you."

Z began to follow him out when Temari's voice reached him. "Wait, can you put me under the sheets? I don't need the bedspread, but the sheets would be nice." Z walked back towards her with Madara’s consent.

He turned down the bed and moved her under the sheet and spread. "I'll come and wake you up at the usual time tomorrow, but there won't be any breakfast for you. Madara said that you can only eat when you're with him from now on."

"Fine. You stopped feeding me breakfast for a while anyway." Temari managed to turn herself away from the door by the time she heard it close. She fell asleep quickly and deeply until she felt Madara enter the room.

"I know you're awake. It's rather late, and I'm going to get a few hours of sleep. Do your best, and try not to disturb me."

 _Do my best? What does that even mean?_ The bed sunk as Madara laid down to sleep. She held her breath readying herself for contact but it never came. She began to relax, and she realized that he had actually fallen asleep. As gently and slowly as she could she turned around to look at him.

She observed him for a few moments before realizing that this was the first time she actually looked at him without the expectation of something horrible happening to her. She watched for some movement but saw none. He seemed unnaturally still and she perked up at the thought that he died in his sleep. But that would mean that _she_ was the one sleeping because that could only be a dream.

He was on his back with his arms loosely crossed over his chest, and she couldn't see his whole face. He looked younger in his sleep and Temari wondered what age his body was resurrected as. He seemed so peaceful and guiltless. Just looking at him now would never reveal the atrocities he's committed and willing to commit in the name of his vision and ego.

He turned towards her and Temari stifled a scream. He still looked like he was asleep but it nearly scared her to death. Who knows how he would react to finding her staring at him.

His new position allowed her to see his whole face and it just confirmed her thoughts. She was still having a hard time wrapping her mind around a tranquil Madara when his arm reached out towards her.

The restraints on her body prevented her from moving quickly and his arm landed on her side. She stopped breathing hoping he would cross his arms again.

He didn't move and she released her breath. Even if his arm was on her at least he was still sleeping. She thought that maybe if she was slow and careful enough she could roll his arm off of her without waking him. She prepared her legs to wiggle away, "Temari."

Her eyes shot up towards his face and met ones that seemed to glow purple in the near dark. "I can feel you staring at me, Temari." He pulled her towards him, close enough that she could feel the texture of his black linen pajamas.

"It's OK. I don't mind you staring, but you should be sleeping." He wrapped both arms around her and pulled her flush to his chest. "My father never let me have toys or stuffed animals, not even a pet. Children weren't really seen as children when I was growing up, and I'll admit that you are the first thing I've ever held like this."

Temari could feel his chin on her head and fought her urge to try to wiggle out of his embrace. She knew she wouldn't have gotten away anyway. She sighed and tried to relax as much as she could. She heard his breathing even out again and figured that he went back to sleep.

Her night was shot and she knew there was no way she could fall asleep this way. Not only did she feel incredibly uncomfortable but that rope around her mid-section was starting to give her trouble. Without the fantastic fatigue that put her to sleep earlier she felt every sore muscle and restraint on her. Every time she began to doze off the rope around her mid-section would wake her up. If she relaxed her abdomen or breathed too deeply the rope would cut into her.   It dug into her stomach keeping her in a constant state of tension.

For the next four hours she lay there, getting rest at times but not sleeping. However, it did give her plenty of time to think about her position, both literally and figuratively.

_What am I going to do? I'm pretty sure that I almost died tonight because of some sick fantasy of his._

_Thinking back on it, if anyone found out that I had drowned while being raped by Madara, I think I would die from the shame of it all over again in the afterlife. I deserve a better death than that._

_I deserve a better life than this, but…I'm not going to let myself die here. No matter how much I may want to end it, I have to keep going. If I don't value my life, he never will._

Temari didn't want to complete the next thought that nearly ran through her head, but she still half wondered if this existence was even worth the effort.

All four hours Madara hadn't let her go and she thought that once he even smelled her hair unconsciously. That night confirmed something for Temari. Madara had some very deep issues and she was being punished for them.

* * *

 

Tenten stared at her breakfast and began to give up on eating that morning. That was when she felt Lee's presence approach her. "Hi Lee, are you about to eat breakfast?" She didn’t take her eyes off of her food.

"Good morning, Tenten! I have already eaten after my morning run. Are you still not interested in joining me? It would be much better with your company."

Tenten noticed that Lee was purposefully not saying his and Gai-sensei's trademark phrase, and she was slightly surprised that she already missed hearing the words springtime and youth.

"I'm sorry, Lee. I'm just not ready yet. Give me a bit more time." Tenten just couldn't bring herself to say that training with Lee was too painful a reminder of Neji and Gai-sensei. But she figured he already knew that.

"It's OK, Tenten. I'll continue to wait for you in case you change your mind. Have you heard the big news yet?"

"I can't believe I'm getting the latest gossip from you, but I haven't been very social lately. What's going on now?"

"They found Yamato and they're going to start debriefing him."

"I'm pretty sure 'debriefing' means interrogating. Do you know who's talked to him yet, if anyone? I guess they can’t really trust him can they? I mean he could very well be the enemy by now.”

“I can’t believe that Yamato would try to hurt us. I’m sure they’ve already proven that he’s not a Zetsu in disguise.”

“I’m an idiot!” Tenten dropped her chopsticks and hit her forehead. “How could I have forgotten to tell someone?”

“Tenten, I assure you that you are not an idiot. I can help you with whatever is wrong.”

“Well, it’s probably nothing, but during the last fight I saw Madara throw something aside so I went after it. It was the Benihisago and the Kohaku no Johei. While I was trying to seal them in a scroll two zetsus came out of the ground. I started to fight them but they were only interested in the items. I meant to tell someone, but so much happened since then that I just didn’t think about it.”

“I don’t think that’s any reason to berate yourself. Ultimately you weren’t hurt and a lot of things did indeed happen. It doesn’t seem like it’s that important really. Who do you think you should tell?”

“I don’t know. I don’t even know if it matters anymore. It would probably be better for everyone if I just keep it to myself.”

“Hmm, I think that I will tell this to Sakura. It can’t hurt to share this kind of information. If it means nothing, then it’s nothing. But if it is important, she’ll know what to do. It will be a good reason for me to talk to her. I'll also try to find out everything I can for you about Yamato.”

"There's no reason to do it for me, Lee." She looked up from her plate just in time to see his face fall. "But there's also no reason you can't do it for yourself and then tell me afterward." She saw his eyes widen and glow and decided right then that she would do her best to make sure Lee always kept that radiance about him.

"I wonder if Sakura's had breakfast yet. I can always go by her tent and bring her something to eat." He began to get up from the table, but was stopped by a gentle pressure on his shoulder.

"She's over there in the corner, Lee. She just sat down, but she looks tired. Maybe you should give her a few hours before you approach her. You know then she may actually have something to share with you about Yamato."

"That's a great idea, Tenten! I will meet with Sakura at lunch. Until then I'm going to go train some more." Lee was almost out the dining tent before Tenten managed to say bye. She knew that training was Lee's way of coping with their teammates' deaths. And if that would make him happy she wouldn't get in his way.

The tent was noticeably busier than it had been when Tenten first entered for breakfast and it took her a few minutes longer than she thought to dispose of her food and tray. To avoid the growing traffic she took a circuitous route to the door and happened to pass by Sakura's table. Naruto had joined her by this time and she decided to slow her gait to overhear what they were talking about.

She didn't catch much but what she did hear made her want to definitely meet up with Lee later on to find out what was really going on.

Her eyes squinted from the morning sun and from her thoughts as she tried to piece together what she overheard.

_Sakura said she was going to go with someone to do something having to do with Yamato. Well, that seems normal enough. She's probably been assigned as his doctor or something. He was assigned to their team for a while so he'd probably be comfortable with her._

_But I know I heard the names Madara and Senju. Yamato uses wood style like them so does that mean he is a Senju? Or does it mean he's like Madara? I guess it doesn't really matter as long as he's still the Yamato we know._

Tenten didn't really have anything to do. She knew everyone was being extra nice to her and it resulted in her not really having any serious duties around the camp. They were giving Lee the same treatment, but she wasn't sure if he actually realized it.

The tents in the encampment suddenly seemed sparse and she cursed herself for her absentminded wondering. If she weren't careful, her feet always led her towards the Shinju tree. She sat at the edge of camp and stared ahead.

She hated to admit that the tree was beautiful, but it was. The bark was more like twisted vines with sprouts coming out in random spots than an actual tree’s bark. At the top was a bud just beginning to open, but it was already large enough to block out the sun from certain angles. The green of the plant was contrasted with a vibrant red that peeked out between the green of the bud.

Tenten could tell that it would be the most beautiful plant on the planet and she would welcome it if it didn't also represent the death of everything she had ever loved.

It radiated an alluring aura. One that beckoned and calmed her, but she could also sense the underlying danger.

More than once she had to hold herself back from getting any closer than she was now. Sometimes she would test her limits and she could feel its power begin to overwhelm her own as she closed the distance between them.

She settled into a comfortable position and began to meditate. Her first thoughts always went to Neji and Gai-sensei. The only difference between the few days separating her from the day she lost them is that the images of their deaths began to shorten by a fraction of a second. It's hardly perceptible, but Tenten can feel the difference.

Each fraction of a second shaved off the memory of the death gets replaced by a memory of their life, and she decides to live for the day when her first and only thoughts are the good memories of them.

* * *

 

"Good Morning, Sakura-chan!" yelled Naruto.

“Good Morning, Naruto." Sakura barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes at Naruto’s chipper attitude.

"You look annoyed at something.  Why are you so upset so early in the day? Did something happen?" He sat down in the seat next to her.

"Not really, I'm just fed up with everything. I'm ready to go back to Konoha and have everything go back to normal."

"I know how you feel, but I don't want things to go back to the way they were before. It would mean that all of this was pointless. I…"

"You what?" Sakura looked over to him and noticed the faraway look in his eyes.

"I'm really curious about why you were so upset in the first place. What really happened?" Sakura knew that wasn't what he was thinking. It didn’t match that look she just saw, but she decided to let it go.

"It really is a combination of everything piled on top of me. Last night the Raikage added two more guards to Yamato without telling me. It makes me worry about what else he's going to do without telling me."

"He is the Raikage. I mean, I would tell you everything, but he's not me."

"What are you talking about, Naruto?"

"I don't know. Have you talked to Kakashi-sensei about it yet? He is technically the Hokage."

"No. We're supposed to meet in about fifteen minutes to interview Yamato. I think he might actually be on time for this, but I'm prepared to start without him. There's just so much we need to find out about Madara and his wood release. After seeing what Uchiha Madara and Senju could do with it, it makes me wonder if there's something about Yamato we're missing."

"Well, I'm going to go hang out with Gaara. I'll see you around."

"But you didn't even eat breakfast."

"I, uh, I actually ate earlier. See ya." Naruto ran out before she had a chance to ask who he was with, but it wasn't really important. She needed to clear her mind for Yamato.

* * *

 

Madara left her in the morning without a word and she wondered how long she would have to lay there until someone untied her. Right as she finished the thought, Z opened the door.

“Good Morning! Did you sleep well?”

“No.”

“Hmm, well maybe you won’t be so uncomfortable if you talk to Madara about your sleeping arrangements.”

“Just untie me. I have a horrible headache, I’m sore, and I’m starving.”

“Right, right, lucky for you, I’ll be preparing the meals for a while. So all you need to do is prepare yourself. You should know the routine by now.”

“Yeah, I got it. I know you’re only cooking so I won’t be able to sneak any food. Are you all trying to make me lose weight or are you just trying to make me weak?”

“The answer to that doesn’t matter. I think you’ve been losing weight anyway. I’ve been cleaning up after you, and you barely eat anything to begin with.”

“I guess I just don’t have much of an appetite these days.”

“Don’t tell Madara that. He’ll ask you to prove that statement.”

“Aren’t I talking to him when I’m talking to you?”

“More or less, but I don’t tell him _everything_. He doesn’t even want to hear everything to begin with, just the important things for him.”

“Are you going to tell him that?”

“No. I don’t think you really mean it. You can do any kind of dance you’d like for today. There were no special requests.”

“Whatever Z, I’m already ready for today to be over. Is there any way you can give me some water and aspirin or ibuprofen or some kind of pain killer?”

“No to the pain killers, but there’s water waiting for you.”

Temari thought about asking him to heal her again but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. She wanted to hit herself for never learning how to heal with her chakra. She didn’t even know if she had the talent for it.

She entered the dining room/entertainment room and began to create her dance for the evening. She tried to figure out why she was in more pain than before and figured that she had so many small injuries from the war and Madara that they just all blended together. However, after being forcefully healed she remembered how good it felt to be relatively pain free. Now every new injury felt ten times worse than it would have before.

The best way to combat pain (without any outside help) was with distraction, either physically or mentally. She took the route that made sense to her and avoided thinking about the pain by focusing on her dancing. She treated it like training and just moved through the pain all morning.

* * *

 

Sakura had pen and paper ready and out for them to begin. A was the first to arrive and Kakashi was only twenty minutes late. Someone must have warned the Raikage about Kakashi because he was only _beginning_ to get upset by the time Kakashi showed up.

Sakura gave Yamato’s vitals a quick onceover and after everything checked out they began.

Kakashi cleared his throat before beginning, "Yo, it's good to see you after so long. How long has it been anyway?" Yamato knew what this was, and he didn't blame them. He wouldn't trust him either in this situation, and he was prepared to go along with whatever they required of him.

"Well the last time I saw you was before I left with-wait, there was that idiocy with Maito Gai on the ship. That was the last time I saw you."

"Do you know how long it's been though?"

"Not really."

"That's fine; I have a hard time telling how long it's been too. What's happened since they took you?"

"I honestly don't know. After they knocked me out on the island I think they put me in some sort of genjutsu. Every time I was able to release it I was in darkness for a moment before it started again."

So far Kakashi was the only one talking to him. A seemed fine with that, but Sakura was itching to say something. "What was it like in the genjutsu?" she asked.

"Hello Sakura, I'm glad that you're OK and that you're here to see me. The genjutsu was strange. I was in Konoha and sometimes people were there and sometimes they weren't. I had this weird best friend named Guruguru who would follow me around everywhere.

"I'm pretty sure he was the main one trapping me. I also think that he was collecting intelligence about Konoha through me. I tried to stop him, but his genjutsu was incredibly insidious. I realized that he was using my memories to create Konoha and everyone in it. I tried to stop, but it was too late for most things.

"As far as things happening…nothing  _happened_. Everything was normal with no significant events. That was when I realized that everything being normal was the event. The purpose of the genjutsu wasn't to defeat me in some way, but to use me.” Yamato shook his head and looked away from them.

"I'm truly sorry if the information they got from me caused you all harm." A loud snort was the first sound the raikage made all morning and everyone took note of it. "I'll do my best to make it up to everyone."

Kakashi jumped in before Sakura had a chance to say anything in response. "We're all glad you're back. We thought we would never see you again, and as soon as all of this is over I'll send Naruto in to say hello. Do you know why Kabuto targeted you?"

"The Raikage asked that yesterday and my answer hasn’t changed. I assumed he was looking for anyone from Konoha. Did he _actually_ target me specifically?"

"From the eye witness accounts I believe that you were perhaps a more important target for Kabuto than Naruto or Killer B. I think it was your special ability and your unique history that put you on Kabuto's radar. He did work for Orochimaru after all."

"Yes, I see what you mean now. I'm almost positive that you're right. On another note, I'm glad that Naruto is safe. I worried about him, but I wasn't sure if I should ask." He turned to the Raikage, “And I’m sorry about B. He was a really great guy.”

"I'll definitely pass on your greetings to Naruto. So do you have any questions for us, Tenzo?" asked Kakashi.

"It's still Yamato. I know what you're doing. There's no way I can definitively prove it's me since I just told you that whoever Guruguru is knows most of my memories. However, you're probably the only person who still calls me by that name."

"Yes, you may be right about that, and you've arrived at our problem about your identity. You were with them for quite a long while and you might not even realize you're one of them now. So we're going to have to keep you here in isolation for a while longer."

"I completely understand. I'm not upset about it. I've spent more than a little bit of my time alone. A few more days won't hurt me."

"It might be longer than a few days." replied Kakashi.

"Then a few weeks. I don't know what's going on, but, since it appears that all of the nations are camped out here, I'm going to guess that the war isn't over. If I'm right, then it's even more important that you play it safe and keep me here."

A cleared his throat and sat up. "I'm glad you're being so understanding and cooperative. Is there anything else you think we should know?"

"Not that I can think of. I was kidnapped, placed in darkness and a genjutsu, and then I woke up to this world in the middle of nowhere." Sakura looked to Kakashi and A to see if they picked up on what he just said. She saw no change in either of them. "Sakura, I see that you're concerned about my last statement."

Her eyes widened when she realized her mistake. "It's OK. I honestly am not sure if you guys are really you. I'm a bit worried that this is just another genjutsu. I've tried to release it and I'm still here but that doesn't mean much. I'm perfectly fine staying here until you and I are both satisfied."

"That's good to hear," stated A, "because I'd rather keep you here until the war is over. But knowing that you won't try to leave is a welcome comfort. Sakura tells us that you're perfectly healthy. Do you feel that way?"

"Well, I do feel healthy. I appreciate the kind treatment."

"I’m done for now. Kakashi, Sakura, can you two please join me outside?" They all stood and said goodbye to Yamato before exiting the tent. "We'll discuss what we just learned with everyone at the usual meeting."

"Don't forget we changed the time to be later in the day." added Sakura.

"Right." With that A left with the two guards he brought with him. Sakura turned to go back in the tent when she was stopped by Kakashi.

"Sakura, I want you to be careful about what you say in there."

"What do you mean? Do you really think I'm going to give away our plans or our secrets?"

"No, I don't think that. I just want you to be careful. I don't think Yamato even trusts himself right now and the wrong thing could do damage to everyone involved. I'll see you later this afternoon." Sakura watched Kakashi walk away before returning to Yamato.

"Thank you for coming back in, Sakura. I must admit that I am getting a bit lonely."

"I can't stay for too long. I just wanted to say that you shouldn't blame yourself for the information they took from you. If it wasn't you, then I'm sure that it would've been someone else."

“Did everyone make it out alive?" Sakura turned away from him and shook her head before recounting all those they lost. "I am sorry I couldn't have been there to help."

"No, what's done is done. It can't be helped now." She turned to leave but Yamato stood to stop her.

"Wait, I know you can't share much information with me, but could you try to explain what's happened so far. Surely both sides know that. I don't really mind being here alone, but wondering what has happened is making me a bit uptight."

Sakura thought about it for a moment. Kakashi had just warned her to be careful, but she couldn't see how telling him what happened in the war could hurt. It could only do Yamato good. It would relieve his stress and perhaps ignite some memory that might be important for them.

She also didn’t see how sharing common knowledge would hurt. So she took a seat and began to tell Yamato an overview of what happened. How the key players died, about the fights with Madara, and how now the Shinju tree is blooming.

* * *

 

Z came in to put on her collar and to let her know it was almost time for lunch. He also informed her that she could wear her own clothing for lunch today.

What would have made her relieved a few days ago now just made her nervous. She just hoped that whatever Madara had planned for her wasn’t too horrible. Her stomach flipped and growled as she thought about yesterday’s lunch. She did not want that to happen again.

She chose what she usually wore at home in Suna: a black long-sleeved wrap top and a black skirt with a black apron-like overlay. It was the same thing she wore to see off the Konoha shinobi when they saved Gaara.

She re-entered the dining room to find the food and Madara already there. She noticed he wasn’t wearing his usual clothes. Until now she mostly saw him in a plain navy or black high collared shirt and sweatpants. Today he wore traditional casual work clothes. He had on a navy kimono like shirt and matching loose cotton pants. His shirt reminded her of the face beneath it and she shuddered involuntarily at the mental image.

Lunch was some kind of bean soup and she devoured three bowls of it before her stomach started to ache again.

“After fasting one shouldn’t eat so much so quickly.”

“It’s not ‘fasting’ if you starve me.” She hated how full of himself he sounded and she wished that she could bring him down to reality.

“I’m in a very good mood today, so I’m going to overlook that last remark. But if you don’t want to fast for another two days you will watch what you say to me.” Temari stopped herself from replying to him. She quickly remembered that her reality was his whim and she calmed down.

She really didn’t want to go two days without eating. Sure it wouldn’t kill her, but she didn’t need to add hunger pains to her long list of aches and pains.

She also desperately did not want a repeat of yesterday’s lunch. So she made a decision to really watch what she was going to say. “I’m glad you’re feeling well. Did something special happen?”

“A plan of mine is beginning to take shape. As things continue to go my way, it’s further proof that I am right and that my vision will be the truth.”

“What’s your plan?” she asked. Madara eyed her for a second before continuing.

“Do not ask me questions like that anymore. They make me not trust you.”

“I didn’t mean it like that, Madara-sama.” She looked down at her empty bowl and hoped he would just drop it.

“You seem different today. So far I like the change in your attitude. If it continues, I might decide to reward you.”

Temari hated that he was right. Not more than a moment before he spoke she had decided that she needed to reprioritize things. Minimizing the physical pain Madara put her in was number one on the list. If she was serious about living, then she wanted to at least have a relatively pain free existence. It would require swallowing her pride and holding her tongue, but she had to try.

“I am- I am going to try-” Tears started to form in her eyes and her throat got tight. She felt like a wreck. Her emotions were all over the place and now she was about to cry.

“Stop Temari, I know what you’re trying to say. I will acknowledge a genuine effort.”

Temari nodded her head and hoped that he would recognize her effort before the next time he decided to entertain himself using her body. It seemed that unless she was covered in bruises he wouldn’t care how hurt she was. She didn’t want to be continuously battered and beaten by him. If this was the way to stop him from hurting her then she would deal with it.

She also knew that she needed some diversions for herself. “Madara-sama, can I read this afternoon? I don’t have to cook for you and I’ve already figured out my dance. I would like to grab a few books from the library to pass the time.”

“I see nothing wrong with that, but you cannot enter the library right now.  I’ll bring you some suitable reading. Come and wait out in the large room. It’s been a while since you’ve spent time there anyway.”

Temari followed him and stood next to the tree trunk like couch as Madara retrieved some reading for her. He left the door open. She began to peek inside but stopped. Her curiosity about what was going on in the library wasn’t enough to risk Madara’s anger over.

She pointedly turned away from the library and leaned against the back of the couch. She looked up and noticed the change on the ceiling. It was almost completely covered by roots. When she had first arrived they were grouped around the center of the cave and only stretched out about three or four feet. They were now at least ten feet long. The growth they showed was remarkable.

She heard Madara close the library door and turned to face him. He came out holding three books, and Temari was visibly enthused by the sight of them.

“I remember you said you like plants, and, since you won’t be seeing them any time soon, I brought you a book on flora.” He pointed to the second book. “This one is about international relations between shinobi villages, and the last one is on the cultural history of Konoha.”

“Thank you so much!” Temari almost gave him half a smile as she reached for the books but Madara moved them away from her.

“What are you willing to do for these books?” Temari’s heart plummeted to her stomach.

“I-I don’t know. What do you want for them?” Madara’s eyes seemed to get darker as he leered at her.

“There are three books. I want three things. It’s either all of the books or none of them. Do you want to continue?” He leaned into her and ominously cast her in shadow.

Temari thought about this. She knew if she said no that Madara would somehow punish her for it. He would never let her out of this situation with a simple “never mind.”

She answered, “Even if I were to say no, you could still ask me to do the things you want. I’ll continue.” Madara chuckled at her response.

“That is very true, and you are right. If you had said no, I would have just made you do the things I wanted without giving you the books.” He walked around her and took a seat on the couch.

“What do you want me to do?” Her voice came out weak and trembling and Temari almost didn’t care. If he didn’t know by now that he scared her more than any person in her life then he never would. But his small smile informed her that he knew exactly what he did to her.

“Come around here, and stand in front of me while I talk to you.” She stood in front of him out of arm’s reach hoping that what he was about to ask of her wouldn’t be too difficult for her do. She could feel the coffee table behind her calves stopping her from retreating any farther.

“Tell me what I am to you, and don’t lie to me.”

 _A test. This has to be a test._ “You are…You represent…everything to me. You control everything about my life. When I eat, when I sleep, where I go, what I see. It’s all up to you. I’m sure that if you’d like to you could control even more. You’ve proved that you are the one who decides if I live or not.”

He motioned for her to come closer and after a moment of hesitation she did. His hands crept up her legs, over her skirt and rested around her waist. The touch was so gentle it almost tickled, and yet it still tormented her.

He could feel every little muscle tense beneath his fingers, and he temporarily pushed down the impulse to grab her as hard as he could. She was too soft and too firm at the same time. “And what does all of that mean to you, Temari?”

“I don’t understand what you’re asking me.” She could feel her pulse begin to rise and her mouth felt bone dry.

“Are you pleased with this arrangement? Do you like having me in your life?” His grasp of her waist became stronger and his thumbs began to rub her stomach. Her heartbeat was in her brain and panic was setting in. Her mind raced to find an answer.

_What does this maniac want from me? If I say yes, I’m obviously lying. But if I say no he’s obviously going to punish me. He said not to lie to him, but if I can convince him I’m telling the truth it wouldn’t really matter._

_No, I probably wouldn’t get away with it. Will the punishment he gives me be worse for lying or for telling him the truth?_ She took a deep breath and answered him.

“I would prefer my life to be as it was before you brought me here and before you made yourself the most important person in my life. I don’t like anything about this ‘arrangement,’ and I definitely don’t-” Temari couldn’t breathe; she couldn’t think. All she could feel was a suffocating crush. His hands were like steel claws and her stomach a pillow.

“You didn’t finish Temari. You ‘definitely don’t’ what?” She tried to push his hands away from her but it did nothing. “I’d really like to hear what you have to say, because I thought you would be grateful that I chose to keep you with me.” He loosened his hold enough for her to function, but he still held her too tightly.

“Thankful that instead of the torture I had originally planned for you I decided to make you mine.” One hand stopped squeezing and traveled down her thigh, up her skirt and stopped at her bare hip.

“But I forgive you.” His eyes left her face and traveled slowly down her body. “I recognize that you are not used to this kind of attention.” She tried to step back from him but was stopped by his harsh hold on her. “Tell me how you feel now, Temari.”

She could feel the hunger he had for her and its intensity scared her. She reached for his shoulders to try to push away from him, but she stopped herself.

She let her hands lay on his shoulders as she answered him, “I’m grateful. You’ve allowed me to live, and I’m very grateful.” Her voice was stilted and soft from holding back the fear building up in her.

“I want you to show me the gratitude and joy you feel every time you see me. You’ve really been quite rude to me up until now. From now on, you are to properly acknowledge me when you see me.” His fingers were tracing light designs into her bare hip and playing with the thin band of her panties.

“I will from now on. I promise.”

“We’ll see.” He opened his legs and leaned back on the couch bringing Temari closer to him. “Show me how you’ll greet me.” He brought his hand from her waist to her cheek, “Show me now.”

Temari nodded and took a deep breath. She brought her hands in front of her and gave a deep long bow. “Good afternoon, Madara-sama. I’m glad you’re- ugh” Temari felt his knee in her stomach and then a sharp pain in her back. He kneed her so hard it sent her flying into the stone coffee table behind her.

“Try again.” Temari was barely breathing through the pain coursing through her body as light tears snuck out of her closed eyes. He grabbed one of her top ponytails and pulled her up so that they were both standing. “I said to try again.” He shook her with every word before pushing her back. “Now.”

Temari opened her mouth but nothing came out. She stopped and tried to calm herself by forcing deep breaths. _Think, Temari! What does he want from you? It has to be about him. Maybe he doesn’t want something traditional…But he’s just so traditional. I don’t understand and I have to hurry before he hits me again._

She looked up at him and he looked wilder than she had noticed before. His eyes were still black so she figured he was still in control of himself. But somehow those black eyes seemed more dangerous to her than his rinnegan. She needed to end this quickly.

She stepped towards him, “Madara-sama, how are you this afternoon?” She brought her arms around him in a soft hug and prayed that he wouldn’t strike her.

She felt his arms move around her and return the hug. “This is much better.” He kissed her forehead before leaning away from her. “That still isn’t great, but it’s going in the right direction. I expect you to get better with each greeting. You’ve earned one book; let’s start on the next.”

He pulled her into his lap as he sat back down on the couch. “I must admit that I’m a little embarrassed to voice my next request.” he said more to himself than to her.

Temari tensed at the thought of Madara asking for something that embarrassed him. If he didn’t want to ask, she knew she wouldn’t want to do it.

“You must know that this relationship is special to me, and I think you feel the same way. I want you to show me how special I am to you. I need you to be more affectionate towards me. I know you’re scared, but just embrace your feelings for me and what I do. We’ll start slow.”

Temari was absolutely bewildered. _“Start slow?” What does he want from me now?_ “Hurry up, Temari; I have other things to do today.”

“Sorry, Madara-sama, I’m just not sure what you want me to do.” He reached around her shoulders to bring her into a tight hold closer to his chest while he stroked her bangs.

“I thought you were smarter than this. Or is it that you have an idea and you’re too scared?” With one swift motion Temari was on her back with Madara above her. The quick movement made her light-headed and she didn’t notice his advance until his mouth was on hers and his long thick hair fell around her face plunging her into darkness.

The kiss took her by surprise and she struggled to keep her mouth closed against his lips and tongue. He pressed against her stomach inadvertently causing her to wince in pain. Madara took the cue and pressed harder making her lips give in to his. He forced his tongue past her teeth and took his time exploring her mouth.

His tongue circled inside her mouth and she tried to keep her own tongue as still as possible. His tongue found hers quickly and began to toy with it. She wanted him out of her mouth.

He pushed on her midsection again harder than before. She moaned from the pain in her stomach, but it only served to excite him. One hand traveled south while the other went behind her head. She tried to ask him to stop but it only deepened the kiss. His tongue tangled with hers as he left no room for escape.

He pushed up her skirt and roughly massaged her thigh. Every part of her felt smothered by him and she could feel something deep within her disappear. He bit her lip before kissing all around her face and neck.

“Don’t you like it when we’re together?” He continued to kiss her face and moved his hand farther up her inner thigh until he reached her panties.

“Answer me. Do you like being with me?” Temari ground her teeth and tried to not hyperventilate. She knew what she had to say but it was so hard to voice. He grabbed her ponytail and pulled on it. “Answer me now, or I might jump to the wrong conclusion.”

She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out again. She tried again and managed a squeak. He let go of her hair and spoke into her ear. “Why do you have to be so difficult?”

His fingers rubbed against her through her panties as he raised himself a good distance from her. She saw his face twist into something dark and foul. An apology was on her lips when he grabbed her throat with a force that startled and silenced her.

He kissed her open mouth and groaned with pleasure into her mouth. He slid her panties to the side and pushed two of his fingers in her before rising above her.

He looked down on Temari struggling to breathe and writhing beneath him. Her eyes were brilliant and shining from tears and her mouth was open inviting him in. Her body was screaming for him.

“Why are you so beautiful? I look at you sometimes and I can’t believe you really exist. You upset me and then I look at you like this and I can’t help myself.” She pulled at his hand around her neck but it made no difference.

“I can’t control myself around you and you know it.”  He pushed another finger in her to see the twist he knew her body would do. “You know it and you still provoke me. Why? If I hadn’t been your first I would have sworn you were a whore the way you play with me.” Temari was barely staying conscious when he finally let go of her neck.  “Tell me why, Temari.”

Temari was coughing and gasping for breath as she tried to speak, but it wasn’t fast enough for Madara. He slapped her with both sides of his hand and commanded that she respond to him. She tried to shield her face but he slammed his fingers into her with the force of a punch and she instinctively tried to pull him out of her.

He hit her again and cruelly pressed his pressed his nails into her inner most flesh. Her scream came out as a pitiful whimper. She had to stop this.

 He licked the blood on her cheek from his last blow and kissed her again. “Just answer me.”

“I-I like it. I like it, Madara-sama.” It came out as a hoarse whisper.

“Hmm? You do?” He nibbled and kissed on her ears.

“Yes, I do. I like it.” He traveled to her neck and collarbone sucking along the bruise forming on her neck causing more pain on the sensitive area.

“What do you like?” He flicked one of the rings on her collar back and forth.

“Anything.” He brought his fingers that were within her to her lips. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw a trace of blood.

“Anything?” He rubbed the fingers that were inside her along her lips.

“Everything. I like everything you do to me.” Her chest became hollow with the words. It felt like her heart abandoned her and she was left a shell. He kissed her more intensely than he ever had before.

 

"Doesn't it feel good to admit how you feel?"

"Yes," she couldn't hold back her sobs anymore and she hated herself for everything. She hated herself for crying. She hated herself for giving in to him. She hated that she wanted to live. "Yes, it feels good."

"I want you to let me know how much you enjoy our time together as much as possible." He continued to kiss her between his words. "There is no such thing as telling me too much. I told you we'd start slow, and we will."

She heard him between her sobs but he just wasn't making sense. She decided that she must have missed something crucial because she didn't really understand what he was talking about, but ultimately she didn't care. If it was important, she was sure that she'd be punished for whatever impossible thing he wanted from her later. So it didn't really matter.

"Are you going to do your best?" She nodded just to please him. She wasn't sure what he was talking about. She just wanted him to leave her alone before he went any further.

* * *

 

 Gaara was finding today’s meeting more trying than usual. No one had come up with anything useful and they were quickly running out of time. Soon their only option to defeat Madara would be an all-out assault on the Shinju tree just like during the war. They needed something new or they were already dead before they started.

He noticed that A was avoiding talking about Yamato. Gaara found that quite interesting as A couldn’t talk about anything else the other day. That could only mean one thing: things hadn’t gone how A planned.

Gaara could tell that he wasn’t the only one waiting for A to bring up the topic so he finally did it himself. “I’m sorry to interrupt you, but how did the talks with Yamato go? If I’m correct, you’ve had a chance to talk with him twice now: once after our meeting yesterday and once again this morning. You must have gotten something valuable out of him.”

Everyone turned to A, and he sighed in disappointment. He hated being wrong in any way, even if he _technically_ wasn’t. “He doesn’t remember anything real, and he doesn’t know much.”

“I’m not surprised. Madara wouldn’t just drop answers in our lap. Have we tried any mind probe tactics on him?” asked Onoki.

“Yes, I had some performed on him last night and all they found were the remnants of a powerful genjutsu.” A went on to tell them about the two interviews and everyone showed they understood.

“Who is this Guruguru?” asked Mifune.

“We don’t know. He could be dead already, another one of Madara’s accomplices, or even Madara himself. I don’t think it really matters who he is.” No one had seen A so resigned to an outcome he didn’t dictate. Perhaps the loss of his brother was affecting him more than they initially thought.

“Well, if he has no information for us, maybe we need to treat his appearance differently.” said Mifune.

Onoki rubbed his chin and slowly nodded. “Yes, why did he appear now?”

“Because the zetsus can’t infiltrate us anymore,” Naruto spoke for the first time that meeting. “If his purpose was to gather information from Yamato, then he has no reason to keep him if that information is no longer useful.”

“But if that were the case, why is he still alive? Wouldn’t it be easier for Madara, or this Guruguru, to just kill him instead of releasing him?” asked Mifune.

“That’s because he’s still serving the same purpose. He’s just gathering new information. He was released to us in order to get new information for Madara.” said Onoki knowingly.

“Yes, that has to be it.” A said as he slammed his fist on the table. “That snake! I knew there was something I didn’t like about all of this.”

“Wait, there’s a lot to think about here before jumping to conclusions. Like how would he pass on information to Madara if her were to get anything useful.” said Kakashi.

“Yes, if we’re all in agreement that he’s here for Madara then we need to figure out their method of communication. It could be the way to locate him and create a surprise attack.” said Onoki.

 

Sakura stood up. “I don’t think he’s doing any of this on purpose though. Whatever we decide, we have to take Yamato’s predicament into account. He’s being used and we shouldn’t punish him for that.” said Sakura.

A rolled his eyes before grunting in annoyance. “Kakashi, I get that you can have whoever you want to accompany these meetings, but can you please do something about her. I can’t take this kind of attitude for much longer.”

“What attitude? My point is valid. We should all be treating Yamato as if he’s one of our colleagues, not just some problem.”

A growled, “Kakashi, we don’t have time for this. Either you talk to her now or she leaves.”

Kakashi hated moments like this especially when he had an audience. “Sakura, we can talk later about Yamato’s wellbeing, but right now, let’s just focus on the problem that could ruin any and all of our efforts.” He smiled with the one eye she could see and she acceded by taking her seat.

Shizune decided to speak up and ease some of the tension felt in the Konoha faction. “I honestly don’t think it will help us to figure out how Madara is getting or going to get information from Yamato. If he’s as evil as we think he is then even if we find out something we can use against him he’ll just kill Yamato before it matters.”

“Not to mention there are countless ways we’d have to account for.” added Mei. “I think we should focus on misinformation. If we are correct in assuming Yamato’s only here to get information, then we can also assume that Madara is concerned about what we’re planning.”

“And if he’s concerned that means that there is some way to defeat him.” said an excited Onoki.

“Exactly! We can manipulate Madara with this. I think that we should come up with at least two plans. The first is our real one, and the second we let slip to Yamato.” Mei was confident in her assessment and waited for comments.

But none came. Everyone agreed. “Well that just puts us back to square one. What are we going to do?” asked Mifune.

Naruto lightly cleared his throat. “I’ve made some headway in looking for him. I can definitely say that he’s nowhere in a three-hundred mile radius.” Naruto smiled at his accomplishment, but only Gaara and Onoki seemed to understand why that was a good thing.

Kakashi leaned over to Naruto and asked the question that was on everybody else’s mind. “Naruto, um, that’s not really good news now, is it?”

Gaara butted in, “On the contrary, Kakashi. Sometimes it’s as good to know where he’s not. Why would Madara leave the Shinju tree under our supervision? Is it invincible? Is it doing something to us, that he doesn’t want done to him? There’s a lot we may be able to figure out from this.”

“Assuming this is true, that is. I’m sure that you couldn’t find him, kid. But where all did you search?” asked Onoki.

“I searched everywhere for him: high and low. I used my nature chakra and there’s no way he could escape from my search.”

“I want to trust you, Naruto, but I’m just not sure. Did it occur to you that he was masking his chakra?” Onoki persisted.

“There’s no way that would work with my senses. He couldn’t hide his large amount of power from me.”

“So if you didn’t find Madara, what did you find?” asked Gaara. Everyone knew he was hoping for a word about Temari, but they also knew that she was either dead or also beyond their reach.

“I only found us and the tree. Everyone else has long abandoned the area.”

“I see. Well we have a lot to think about, don’t we? Anyone else have anything to add?” asked Gaara.

“I’ve had an idea rumbling around in this old noggin. How about we try to resurrect the hokage again? They really did some damage during the war until Madara sealed them all. I think we should try to unseal them again.” said Onoki.

“That’s a good idea if it can be done. Onoki, I want you to get together anyone and everyone who has some skill in sealing and figure this thing out.” After A said his statement he pointed to Kakashi. “I want you in on this too since it involves the hokage.”

“Of course, I also have some skill in sealing so I would be involved anyway.”

A stood and effectively dismissed the meeting. Sakura went to go complain about her treatment to Naruto but she saw that he was already talking to Gaara. She turned to find Shizune and she was already gone too.

Sakura needed to talk to someone about what just happened so she left the tent to find a willing listener and she didn’t care who it was at the moment.

* * *

 

Temari quickly stood up to straighten her clothes and almost fell back down again. She was incredibly dizzy and light-headed.

“Is something wrong with you? Get up before I make you get up.”

She slowly shook her head before carefully standing up again. Her abdomen hurt when she stood at full height so she hunched over to straighten her clothes and hide the pain.

She didn’t know why she felt that she had to hide her aches from Madara. Maybe she was ashamed that she had let him affect her so much already. She thought about it as she gradually stood up straight.

“You’re starting to look rather pale.”

“Well that’s what happens to people who are kept in underground prisons. Just tell me the third thing you want me to do.”

“What are you really trying to say Temari?” She heard the threat in his tone and she wondered herself what she was saying. Didn’t she just tell herself that she had to watch out for her safety?

She stood there and realized that no matter what she did or what she said pain was always in her future. She finally grasped her real situation. There was no way she could ever talk her way out of this suffering. Even if she somehow did exactly what he said when he said it, he would always torment her.

He _liked_ hurting her. He was eager to harm her, and he got excited from seeing her suffer. Temari finally saw him. She finally saw Madara for the man he was. And she also realized that she had no hope here.

She felt like she was going to vomit all of the soup she just ate. She needed to get away from him and reevaluate her actions.

“I’m getting tired of having to remind you to answer my questions.”

“I’m just trying to explain why I might seem pale. I’ve never been the tannest of people, but I’m still used to getting a lot of sun. There’s literally no natural light down here.”

“Go lie down. I’m going to have Zetsu check on you.” Temari knew there was no use arguing and left him. “Stop.” She turned expectantly. “I’m going to give you the three books. I’ll accept payment for the third book later.”

She found Zetsu waiting for her in Madara’s bedroom. “Hello Temari, did you have a good lunch.”

“Just check me over.” She laid on the bed and waited for Zetsu with her eyes closed.

Zetsu readied his healing chakra and walked over to her. “I’m surprised you’re letting me heal you. Wait until I tell Z about this.”

“It doesn’t matter whether I let you or not. And I’d hate to die down here just because I hate having to feel your chakra.”

They both kept silent as he checked her whole body. She thought he was done but he came back to her abdomen. He stood and walked towards the door. “I need to talk to Madara.”

“Wait, why did he have you look at me? I only have a handful of marks on me, so why does he care?” Zetsu continued walking out of the room as if he hadn’t heard her.

She gently pressed on her stomach until she could pinpoint the pain. It was on her left side, but she realized there was no real point to what she was doing. She hurt all over. Her stomach hurt, her chest, back, and even her shoulders were sore.

 She arduously sat up on the bed and reached for the books from Madara. She looked for the one on flora considering it to be the lightest topic. She really didn’t want to think about anything of substance at the moment.

She flipped through the book and found many pictures. Some were drawn and others were photographs. She came across a photograph of a field of lavender and almost cried. She saw the wind bending the tall flowers and she could almost feel it.

She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath and came crashing back to reality. Instead of the lingering smell of lavender she was bombarded with dank earth.

Her eyes shot open and she couldn’t stop a few gentle tears from falling. She tried her best not to think of Madara, but that was where her mind went. He didn’t smell like earth. She tried to remember his smell and she was glad and surprised that she couldn’t.

She was usually in so much pain or panic when he was close to her that she could barely breathe around him let alone smell him. She wondered if she still had her own smell.

She turned at the sound of the door to meet Zetsu. “OK, lay back down so I can heal you.” He healed her in silence and Temari breathed a sigh of relief when she felt most of the pain leave her body.

“Stand up and move around.” Temari stretched and moved around with ease. “Let me or Madara know if you feel more pain tomorrow.” Zetsu quickly left and Temari noticed it was the first time he didn’t say hello or goodbye.

She sat back down on the bed and continued going through the book on plants until she found it too painful a reminder of what she couldn’t have. She threw the book aside with contempt but was disappointed at the muffled noise it made against the floor. She had to figure out how to deal with this situation of hers without going crazy.

Temari opened her palm above her and wiggled her fingers. She couldn’t count how many times she had been on the brink of insanity down here and she was getting close to the edge once again.

She had to stop this rollercoaster or her lucidity might never be the same. She tossed onto her stomach and her mind went to the last question she asked out loud.

Why did Madara bother to heal her?

Why? She laid there with her eyes closed before turning onto her back. She looked at the ceiling for a while before she came up with something.

_He heals me because he actually likes me. That bastard might even think he loves me. He doesn’t really want me to die._

When Temari really thought about it, he never really tried to kill her. She winced as she remembered the near drowning incident. She had almost died but he chose to bring her back to consciousness.

_Didn’t he tell me before that he wouldn’t kill me? I didn’t really believe him, but now I think he was telling the truth._

Just as soon as this revelation came another one did as well. Madara may not mean to kill her, but that doesn’t mean he won’t kill her. He’s an insanely powerful man who likes to hit and strangle her. How easy it would be for him to hold onto her neck for a minute too long, or harm her beyond repair.

More time passed than she thought and before she knew it Z was dressing her in an elaborate and heavy furisode and uchikake complete with ornate and hanging kanzashi.

She thought she was done dressing for the evening and started for the door when Z stopped her. “Temari, I know you haven’t really been down here that long,” Temari snorted so loudly she wouldn’t be surprised if Madara heard it.

Z continued, “I know you haven’t been here long, but I think there’s something you should know.”

“Then spill it, Z. I’m already annoyed at having to take so long to get dressed.”

He stepped towards her and Temari instinctively stepped away from him. “I’m sorry, Temari, I forget how certain actions may seem.” He sat down on the bed and motioned for her to sit next to him.

“I’ll stand.”

“Forget it. You’ll figure it out soon enough. Just a word of advice though. Please listen to Madara.”

“I don’t really have much of a choice, now do I? Are we done here? I’d hate to keep Madara-sama waiting and I’d really hate to forget my dance. It’s one of the three purposes I serve here and I don’t want to disappoint him.” She slammed the door behind her and headed to the dining room.

She didn’t know why that interaction with Z upset her so much, but it did. The minute Madara laid eyes on her he knew something was wrong.

“What’s wrong with you now? Haven’t you been healed?”

“Uh…yeah, everything’s fine. I feel fine.” She walked to the table and almost sat next to him when she remembered their afternoon. She looked to Madara and he almost smiled at the bewildered look on her face. He assumed he figured out what was wrong with her. She still wasn’t sure how to greet him.

She stooped down and tried to hug him in the awkward position and through the yards of fabric she was wearing. “Good evening, Madara-sama. I’ve missed you.” His arms went to her sides holding her between his hands. She took a step back and would have tripped over her kimono had Madara not been holding her.

“I’m glad you missed me, but tell me what’s wrong.”

“Nothing, Madara-sama. I’m just not used to being in this position in such a big kimono.”

“Do you want to wear something else?”

“I know that question is some kind of trick, so let’s just skip the pleasantries and go right to the punishment.” The slap that came from Madara sounded like a whip cracking when it made contact with her face. The force of it alone qualified as a punch and it knocked Temari on her side.

He grabbed a ponytail and pulled her to her knees. “I used to think this hairstyle was a bit ridiculous, but I’m beginning to see the practicality of it.” He dragged her to the table and pushed her head down. Temari didn’t put up any resistance because she knew it wouldn’t make a difference. She also knew she shouldn’t have said what she said.

“Eat; you need to take it easy, so I’m not going to be that rough on you. Tonight, I just want you to entertain me and be pleasant for a change. Tomorrow morning we’ll have a serious talk about our future.”

Temari kept her head down and asked, “What’s wrong with me? Why do I ‘need to take it easy?’”

“I said we’ll talk about more serious things tomorrow. Tonight, I just want a dance and some conversation.”

“Fine,” Temari raised her head and reached for a plate to serve Madara. “Whatever you want. That’s why I’m still here right?” She handed him his plate and began to fix hers.

“Whatever I want…” Madara looked at his plate then over to her. “Did you read any of your books this afternoon?”

“I tried to read the one on plants and flowers but it made me too depressed. Knowing that I’ll never see them again in person is…” She felt her eyes begin to water and stopped.

“Temari…” His voice was admonishing, and she quickly wiped her face.

She added, “It’s no use getting upset over it now. I really don’t want to read about flowers anymore. But don’t take the book away! I might want to read it at another time.”

Madara lightly chuckled at her, “Don’t worry, you’ve earned those books. I wouldn’t take them from you.”

“I haven’t earned all of them yet.” She could’ve hit herself for reminding him of the third book.

“No, you have earned them. I must admit that I’ve been a little hard on you.” She looked up at him wearily. Something had changed and she couldn’t figure out what it was. She would have sworn that he didn’t have a compassionate bone in his body. But he seemed to be making an effort to be kind by his standards.

“I would hate for you to take that back tomorrow, so will you accept tonight’s dance as payment?” Temari carefully watched every twitch in his face looking for some clue to what was going through his mind.

He slowly took a drink of water before answering her. Temari felt her anxiety rise and she wasn’t sure why. “I’ll accept that. Although, I would have hoped that you enjoyed dancing for me too much to possibly bargain with it.”

“I knew you would accept it, and there was no chance you’d tell me not to dance even if you didn’t take the deal. _You_ enjoy it too much.” Madara smiled and Temari almost choked. It was the first smile without a hint of malevolence she had ever seen from him.

“If you know that’s true, then don’t keep me waiting.

She felt her temperature rise and she had to stop herself from throwing her chopsticks down. This man was impossibly infuriating. She hadn’t felt so annoyed so suddenly since the last time she tried to have lunch with Kankurou and Matsuri.

Her stomach lurched and she had to bring her hand up to her mouth to stop from showing how sick she felt. She turned away from him and began coughing. She didn’t want Madara to notice anything. The last thing she wanted to hear was his concern for her.

She stood slowly and began to clear her mind. Her brothers. They came to her mind at the worst time and they wouldn’t leave. She struggled against the urge to cry. She remembered that time with Kankurou and Matsuri.

She was walking to her favorite restaurant. She was just going to order some takeout and bring it back home when she turned at her name.

Matsuri had spotted her and was yelling her name through the street. She caught up with Temari and decided to get take-out as well until Kankurou joined them in the same manner. But her brother wouldn’t settle for them all going their separate ways.

“Let’s just eat here. Come on, you know Gaara and I would just steal your food if you brought it home anyway. At least if you eat it here you’ll take less food home and have less food stolen.”

“I knew it was both of you! Gaara never admits to stealing my food!” She saw that Kankurou realized his mistake and laughed at the thought of what Gaara would do to him when he found out.

She remembered his smile and his voice. That stupid way he had of talking and how he finally took her advice about changing his face designs on a regular basis. She wanted to hug him so badly.

She made it to the wall and took her time setting up the music. She wasn’t ready to turn around and see Madara again, but she knew she had no choice. Her throat was tight and she was thankful she didn’t have to use her voice.

She set the music and picked up the two large black and red fans. The song she picked earlier was rather slow and fit her mood perfectly. She felt nothing but longing and anguish. She cursed her brothers for coming to her mind at that moment. They never knew when to quit and this was just more evidence to prove her point.

She was even mad at Matsuri for encroaching into her life as more than just a colleague. Temari knew there was a reason she tried to keep everyone at a good distance. If she were anything like Naruto right now she’d already be half-dead from missing all her friends. And they’d be half out of their minds from searching for him. At least she knew the few people who cared about her would be able to move on eventually.

 The music began and she tried to hide the feelings running through her heart.

(The song she chose was [“A Paper in the Air”](http://youtu.be/Ec35duqxWsg) by Hiromitsu Agatsuma. [ _youtu.be/Ec35duqxWsg_ ])

Temari wanted this dance to be tranquil. She knew that she couldn’t use her dancing to try to get Madara to _not_ touch her and to leave her alone, but she could still try to affect her own mood. She needed to be composed. And even though she no longer felt the pain she had that morning, she was on the verge of tears just from remembering her brother’s laugh.

She could practically see Kankurou in front of her. She knew what he would say to his sister doing turns and tricks for a man, dancing in a buttercup yellow and green kimono she would never pick for herself. First he would laugh for a good five minutes not able to get a word out. Then he would say, “I can’t believe _my sister_ is actually acting like a girl. She even looks like a girl…almost. I guess nothing can really fix her face.”

He would make jokes that everyone would think are insensitive and inappropriate and he would get away with it because only Kankurou could. She would say something back to him and after a brief back-and-forth they would get the hell out of there. They would leave together and it would just be some stupid moment they would laugh about.

Gaara would laugh too once the retold the story, but only in the small way he always did. Only those close to him could tell when he was actually enjoying himself, and Temari loved that about him.

The music made its way past her body and into her mind. Gaara and Kankurou began to fade away and she was left with nothing. The nothingness felt so deep that she wasn’t sure if any of her was left.

The song was almost over and for the first time in her dance she looked at Madara. His hair cast his eyes in shadow and for the first time since she had been held captive by him she felt something real stir deep inside her from looking at him. It was dark and menacing. Whatever it was, it already threatened to overwhelm her.

She never imagined that something about Madara could scare her more than she already felt, but here she was dreading him for a new reason. One she didn’t even understand.

The song ended and she bowed before placing the fans back against the wall. She carefully took off the cream uchikake and faced him while standing next to the wall. She didn’t know what he wanted. Normally this was when she was assaulted by him, but he hadn’t moved and she didn’t want to tempt his ire.

He continued to stare straight ahead. The rustling of fabric filled the room as she fidgeted. She made the slightest twitch to move and Madara stood swiftly. He walked to her and she still couldn’t see his eyes.

She stared at where they should be until he was too close for her to see anything but his chest. An instinctive step away from him was stopped by his hand.

He pulled her to him and held her. She cautiously lifted her arms to return the embrace afraid of what would come next if she didn’t and apprehensive now that she did. Even through the thick fabric she could feel his hand lingering on her rear. She should have known that her night wouldn’t end peacefully, but then she felt his hand move lower.

He swiftly picked her up holding her knees and back and brought her to their room. Temari felt like nothing in his arms. She wished that she were too heavy for him to pick up. As heavy as he was at least, then maybe he would think twice about moving her around like a doll.

He put her down gently on her feet before moving to the dresser. She watched him as he pulled out a pair of pajamas and began to undress. He didn’t say anything when he noticed her turn away from him. He let her be until he reached the bed.

“These are yours for tonight.” He threw something navy on the edge of the bed before walking behind her. She felt him undoing her obi, but by now she was somewhat mentally prepared for what was probably going to happen.

He let the obi fall and then settled onto the bed with his back against the headboard. “Take that off and change. Zetsu will get the kimono up later.” Temari stood there looking away from him for a few minutes. Her hands just wouldn’t move to take the kimono off. Her body felt frozen.

“Temari, take it off now.” She jumped at his volume and her arms started to tremble. She knew she had to do it and she tried to reason with herself that it wasn’t a big deal. He had seen her before. So why couldn’t she move?

“I’m not playing with you Temari. I’m giving you to the count of five to have it off you and on the floor. One.” Her arms finally started to respond.

“Two.” She started to shrug off the kimono baring one shoulder then the next.

“Three.” She began to feel the weight of the fabric fall.

“Four.” She thought that he had never made her strip for him before as she untied the some of the ties still holding layers on her.

“Five.” The many layers of the kimono fell around her ankles and her whole body was shaking. She felt embarrassed and awkward. She only had her purple panties left and she snatched what he gave her off the bed. She puts it on so quickly she’s not even sure of what it is.

She looks down at herself and sees that it’s a simple cotton navy babydoll nightgown. She takes a closer look at herself and feels the heat rise in her cheeks. The hem doesn’t even go past her underwear and the neckline was low and square. It squeezed against her chest and a lot of her cleavage was out.

She tried to adjust the dress a bit but it just didn’t fit right. “Leave it alone. Come on, we’re going to sit here and read until we fall asleep. Do you need to be restrained?”

“No, I don’t.”

“I expect you to prove that.”


	11. A Brief Relief

Sakura left the meeting tent with an annoyed flourish but immediately returned slightly embarrassed. "Gaara, are we going to meet about Temari today?"

Gaara looked from her to Naruto and then Kakashi. "Kakashi, I believe that your efforts to unseal the hokage and defeat Madara will serve my purpose much better than having another meeting. Temari's position has not changed so we can only work against Madara."

"Wow. Gaara, you seem to be taking all of this pretty well." Sakura was surprised that Gaara was able to be so level-headed so soon after learning the possible fate of his sister. The way Gaara left their meeting yesterday she didn't expect him to be so calm. However she quickly realized that she didn't know Gaara well enough to say if this was in-character for him or not.

"I have Naruto to thank for that. He has been a true friend. I only hope that one day he will think the same of me." Naruto smiled and sat down.

"Gaara, this is what friends do for each other. Stop making such a big deal out of it." Gaara didn't say anything to Naruto because there was really nothing more he could say. He turned to Sakura.

"Sakura I noticed that you seemed distressed in our meeting. Would you like to sit and talk about it? I know that we are not friends, but anyone who Naruto calls a friend is considered a friend by me too." Gaara was not as expressive as Naruto but his concern for Sakura was clear.

She thought about taking Gaara up on his offer, but she just couldn't let her emotional guard down around him. "No, that's Ok, Gaara. I just didn't like the way everyone was talking about Yamato. It's not his fault that he's in this position."

Naruto moved to speak but Gaara beat him to it, "I don't think any of us want to hurt him, but we have to ask ourselves, is his comfort worth losing our free will? I don't know Yamato, but if he was good enough to lead you and Naruto, I think you would be doing him a disservice by treating him as if he's an innocent victim. There are no innocent shinobi. We all knew what we were getting into. And if you didn't know, you found out soon enough to get out."

Sakura thought he was harsh, and she didn't like it. But she couldn't say he was wrong. She wanted to hear what Naruto would say to her. Even when he was mad at her he was never too hard on her.

Gaara saw the displeased look on her face and he couldn't help but think of his sister. He watched Sakura battle with her emotions and realized he really did not know how to talk to females. His aim was to calm her not to cause her more distress.

Or maybe Sakura was used to being treated with a sense of care that he was unfamiliar with. Gaara thought that Naruto seemed to have a sixth and seventh sense when it came to Sakura. The number of times he saved her was uncountable. She couldn't trip on a rock without him there to catch her. Even when her Kakashi was upset with her still knew how to talk to her in a kind manner.

When had he ever saved his sister? When had Kankurou? He could not remember one time when he comforted her about her insecurities or worries. He never sugarcoated anything for her and he couldn't remember anyone else doing it either.

Temari was tough, and he didn't care if what he said upset her. No one cared if what they said upset her.  _She_  didn't seem to care if what you said upset her. She never complained about it. She would just deal with whatever it was and figure out her own solution to the problem.

Was it better that they trusted her enough to take care of herself? That the thought of having to save  _Temari_  from something never entered their heads? Or were they just being indifferent and uncaring?

Everyone needed saving at some point or another and Temari was no different.

Naruto trusted Sakura, and yet he was still there for her just in case. What about Kankurou? Did he feel the same as him? He knew that Kankurou and Temari would be there for him because they had been. They had been there for him even when he didn't deserve it.

Temari had often interceded between him and Kankurou when their petty arguments would begin to escalate. But Gaara couldn't remember one moment when either he or Kankurou had been there for her.

He knew that Temari felt their love for her. That wasn't the issue. What was beginning to needle him was that he didn't show it like she deserved. If he were a better brother, if he had paid more attention to her none of this might have happened. Naruto was somehow able to always be there when Sakura needed him. What was wrong with him?

He knew this wouldn't have happened to a kunoichi from Konoha because someone would have noticed immediately. It wouldn't have taken them three days to just confirm she was missing. And they still weren't entirely sure when, where, how, or why Temari was taken.

Was this the why? Could Madara somehow sense that he could get away with taking her? Did he know that she was more alone than the other kunoichi he encountered?

The world became blurry. His mind was whizzing with more and more thoughts of everything wrong with him and his family. Gaara needed to leave this tent and get away from all these people.

Naruto noticed that Gaara was getting lost in his thoughts and it probably wasn't a good thing. Throughout the night and into the morning Gaara had been blaming himself for everything from Temari to why there didn't seem to enough fruit in their food supplies. Naruto did not want that cycle to start again.

"Gaara, why don't we go for a walk or something? I need to get some air and I could use some company."

Instead Sakura answered him, "I could go with you. I really need to talk to someone, Naruto. I just need to wind down from the day." Naruto looked over to Gaara and saw a familiar look in his eyes.

Gaara was receding to that place that all jinchuriki had. That room in their mind where every doubt and fault could tear them apart if they allowed it.

Sakura stood next to the tent's opening, "Come on, Naruto. I want to be back before it gets too late."

Naruto's instinct was to say yes, but instead he heard Kankuro. "Say Sakura, I actually wanted to talk to you about something. Why don't we go towards the medic tents where people respect the notion of privacy?"

"Why would we need privacy?" asked Sakura.

"I need to talk about something I don't want others to hear. Just come on. I can be a good listener, and I'm not as busy as Naruto or Gaara." Sakura was hesitant as Kankurou left the tent, but she eventually followed him. She figured it wouldn't hurt and that he was right. Naruto probably was very busy after taking over Kakashi's old position.

"Well it seems that having Kankurou around can come in handy sometimes. I'm also going to take my leave." Kakashi stood and left and everyone eventually followed him out.

* * *

Temari had no idea how she was supposed to prove to Madara that she didn't need to be tied down, but she didn't want to ask him either.

She walked around to her side of the bed and was almost next to him when Zetsu walked into the room carrying scrolls, books, and notebooks. He placed everything on the bed and picked up the green and yellow kimono on floor before quietly leaving.

Temari noticed that Zetsu seemed a little distant this evening, but she didn't know if she was just imagining the change. She settled against the headboard as Madara handed over her books and arranged his own supplies across the bed.

He sat crossed-legged towards the middle of the bed writing on a long scroll while occasionally referencing some of the scrolls and books. Temari discreetly looked at what he was writing and recognized it as an extremely complicated fuinjutsu. It looked so intricate and complex that she couldn't even tell what it would seal.

She found her eyes going to his scroll more and more throughout the night. Madara's handwriting was so beautiful that it resembled a painting more than writing, but she had to really concentrate in order to draw out the words from the larger picture. She recognized a few symbols here and there, but not much else.

A light cough tore her eyes from the scroll to the man holding it. He was watching her and their eyes briefly met before she started to form an apology in her mind. His eyes traveled down from her face to her chest, and she lifted the book she was holding as a shield against his gaze.

There was something that deeply irritated her when he looked at her any way he wanted. She wanted to tell him to keep his eyes off of her. Everything with him always felt like so much more than what it was on the surface.

Temari tried to guide his focus. "You never told me to not look at what you were doing. If you don't want me to that's fine, but I won't know unless you tell me."

"Do you understand what you saw?" Temari looked down at her lap. She didn't want to tell him that she really didn't, but she knew a bluff wouldn't take her far.

"It seems pretty obvious to me. You're creating some kind of seal that will probably bring unheard of amounts of suffering to the shinobi world."

Madara stared at her for a moment before turning back to the scroll. Temari continued, "You don't usually work in front of me. What will the seal do, and why are you making it? Isn't the tree enough?" She saw his body stiffen.

"One reason I haven't worked in front of you before was to avoid this incessant questioning. You know I don't like it when you question me."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to annoy you." She looked back to her book hoping that he wouldn't turn this into something more.

"Temari, why don't we have our talk now? It doesn't seem as if either of us is tired enough for sleep and perhaps it will give you a better perspective about what I'm doing." Temari looked up and nodded slowly.

"Whatever you think would be best." He pushed the scroll off his lap and turned around to face her.

"This is a seal that I plan on using in conjunction with the Shinju Tree. It will hopefully be ready by the time it's bloomed. I won't tell you what it will do, but this is the key to our future. After the seal is activated I'm going to set myself as the emperor of this world. Everyone will answer to me.

"The details aren't very important for you to know, but, as long as your brother cooperates with me, he should be just fine." At the mention of her brother Temari's body and demeanor became visibly more defensive. She wasn't sure how she should take in everything she was hearing.

The fact that Madara was  _actually_  planning for a life with her beyond the tree blooming was confusing her. She knew he had some strange delusions about her, but she didn't really think that he would go so far as to make these kinds of plans for their life together. Perhaps it was her own delusions that constantly blinded her from the possibility of life with him outside of these walls.

"Everyone will be happier with me in charge. My world will be a better world."

' _A better world' for you and worse for literally everyone else._  Temari could guess that her face revealed her thoughts, but at this point Madara didn't seem to care.

"I have also worked out most of the details of our new home, but I'm willing to take some suggestions from you. Think about how you want your life to be. I won't be able to begin work on it until I'm done with the shinobi, so it will be a while before I ask you for your opinion."

Temari's eyes went wide.  _He's absolutely serious about this. He intends to make this my life FOREVER. I guess I knew this all along. He's been saying that I'll never leave him, but I can't live this way forever._

"Now, on to the most important thing we need to discuss." Madara took the book out of her hands and closed it before placing it aside. "Zetsu is not the best medic by any measure, and he cannot perform surgeries well. We also have no medical supplies down here that would accommodate you.

"That being said, Zetsu told me that I badly bruised your spleen. We'll know if it's healed by tomorrow, but I'll be honest with you. I don't care if I hurt you-No. That's not right. I don't mind if I get more than a little rough with you. You are a strong girl, and you still manage to be beautiful even when you're bruised and a little bloodied.

"I  _do_  care if you die. You're spleen was on the verge of rupturing. If it had, you would have most likely needed a blood transfusion and surgery. Things we could not accommodate here. To guarantee your survival I would have had to give you to the medics above us. That is as unacceptable as you dying." His fingers lightly traced her lips. "I don't know which would be worse."

Madara saw fear come to her eyes and for a moment he thought that she too was afraid they would be parted. In truth, Temari couldn't believe that he had basically told her that he might prefer her dead rather than away from him.

"Z told me that Zetsu should have some emergency medical supplies for you by tomorrow evening. So don't get too used to me being this gentle with you. It's not in my nature. It's taking an insane amount of restraint to keep myself from throwing you under me this instant. And I just can't trust myself to not get carried away if I start something with you right now.

"Once we're home in Konoha, I'll be sure to have the best medics on call for when I get a little careless with you." He ran his hand roughly against her face and trailed down to her neck.

"The thought of having  _true_  free reign over you will have to be enough until I've established your permanent home. I know you'll like living in Konoha. I might even let your brothers visit us from time to time. Are you as excited about our future as I am?"

Temari was frozen. She could feel her chest rising and pushing against the tight gown from the deep breaths she was forcing herself to take. His hand tightened around her neck, and she rushed to answer him. "Yes Madara-sama, I'm excited too." He smiled and his hand drifted down to her collarbone.

"I can't wait to see you in the sun surrounded by green. I'm going to make sure your new home will have the most splendid garden with all types of flowers and plants." At those last words she relaxed slightly. A garden meant sky. Even if it was in a courtyard there would still be open sky.

This could be her last option. Sky meant escape. There was no way he could stop her once she was in the air. She could use the fans Madara gave her to dance with to glide away from him. The thought of it made her smile, which only encouraged Madara.

"Eventually you're going to be swollen with my child." He laughed with a far-away look in his eyes. "I can just imagine you growing and sick all for my sake. I can't wait to see you that way." He continued to laugh at the image of her uncomfortable and nauseated.

Temari instinctively tried to hide her horror from him. She obviously knew that pregnancy was a result of what they were doing, but she didn't think that it was an actual goal of his.

The big question on her mind was if he knew about the birth control implant she had in her arm. It was common practice for kunoichi to use some form of birth control. It reduced her periods to about five or six times a year, and even though she never expected to be taken hostage and repeatedly raped, now that she was, she was never more thankful for its invention.

The small implant was guaranteed to work for at least another year and a half.  _He said "eventually," but that doesn't mean that he knows about it. I have to figure out what he knows, but I have to be careful._

"Madara-sama, did Zetsu say that I was pregnant?"

"No, but it would probably be too soon to know even if you were. I assumed that Z and Zetsu were checking for it when they healed you. I'll be sure to remind them, but I don't want you to worry about it. We're in no rush. It will happen when it happens." He moved to sit next to her with his back against the headboard.

Temari had her answer. Z and Zetsu had checked her over and neither of them mentioned it to Madara. He had no idea about the implant. So they either missed it or they didn't know what it was. Madara handed her book back over to her.

"I'm going to be up for a while, so feel free to go to sleep before me." He continued his work on the seal and Temari had even more to think about.

_I have to figure out whether Zetsu knows about my implant or not._

_Or do I? As long as they don't mention it, neither will I. It's not strange to not get pregnant from unprotected sex. I'm just going to let this be. Heaven knows I don't want to get pregnant any time soon._

* * *

Lee came into the dining hall for the second time that morning. He looked for Tenten and was happy to see her sitting with Sakura. They both looked happier than the last time he saw them which made him happier as well. He also remembered that he never told Sakura about the Zetsu incident.

He ran over to their table in order to explain himself to Tenten. He expected Tenten and Sakura to be upset with him, but they both just smiled when they saw him.

"Good Morning Lee, how was your run?" asked Tenten.

"It was amazing Tenten, although- It was great. I realized that I forgot to tell Sakura about your encounter with the zetsus. I hope you're not upset with me." Tenten gave him another kind smile while motioning for him to sit.

"Of course not Lee, I just told Sakura about it now. I don't think it's something I should worry about."

"No not at all. I mean it's impossible for the zetsus to infiltrate us again with Naruto around, and if we can't even find Madara there's no way we're going to be able to locate two random objects he probably has stashed away somewhere. I'll pass it on to Kakashi, but I really don't think it's important." said Sakura.

"I am glad to hear it. I am also glad to see that you don't seem as distressed as you were yesterday. I was going to approach you but you always looked so…preoccupied and annoyed."

"Oh, so that's why Lee didn't talk to you yesterday. Are you feeling better?"

Sakura sighed and seemed to deflate a bit. "Yesterday was a bad day for me. I felt useless and ignored. You both know we found Yamato and I've been assigned his primary physician. They're interrogating him and they've come up with some plans that I don't really agree with. They're planning on using him in a way I think is unfair and no one seemed to listen to me."

Tenten asked, "Unfair how?"

"Well, I can't really go into detail, but they aren't taking into account the ordeal he's been through. They're ready to just throw him back to the wolves. It just doesn't seem right to me." She looked up from her plate to Tenten and Lee. She saw the same hesitant faces that were on her colleagues yesterday. She sighed deeply again.

"I guess you two feel the same as everyone else. I know this kind of thing is what we signed up for. I finally get it. I surprisingly had a really good talk with Kankurou last night. He really helped me out."

"That  _is_  pretty surprising." said Tenten. "He doesn't really seem like the comforting type."

"Yeah, I would have said the same thing, but I have to admit that he calmed me down."

"Sakura, why didn't you come talk to me? I am always here for you. No matter what the time or what the problem, I want you to feel as if I am always available for you." Lee's voice began to rise with each word and Tenten tried to get him to quiet down. "Please promise me that you will talk to me the next time you have a problem."

By this time Sakura was beginning to feel the stares from other tables. "Fine Lee, whatever, I promise. Actually I should get going. I'll see you both later." She grabbed her tray and left as quickly as she could.

"I'm sure she'll remember to talk to you the next time she has a problem. Don't worry about it, Lee."

"If you think that, then I won't worry about it. Actually there was something I wanted to mention to you. I know you go and meditate at the edge of camp, but I would really like it if you would meditate closer to more people."

"Lee! Why do I need to be around more people?" Tenten couldn't hide the anger she was feeling. She wasn't sure if it was because of what Lee said or what he was implying.

"It's just that this morning the tree was different. I don't know what the change means, but I just think it would be safer to keep a greater distance from it."

"You realize that you just made me curious about this change and that there's no way I won't go to see it, right?"

"Yes Tenten, I shall accompany you then. That way we'll both be happy." Lee's smile was so bright that there was no way Tenten would dim it by saying that was exactly what she didn't want.

* * *

For once Gaara was glad to be in a meeting. Shikamaru had finally outlined a plan albeit a shaky one. But any plan was better than no plan.

At present their  _only_ option was to attack the tree. But it was painfully clear to everyone that even if they managed to destroy the tree it would only delay the inevitable. Madara would somehow manage to resurrect it and they'd start this waiting game all over again.

Shikamaru instead suggested that they use their attack on the tree as a bluff to draw Madara out. Then once he's made an appearance the actual fight can start.

They all figured that Madara probably wouldn't respond to just an attack on the tree so they were going to trick him into thinking it was something more by feeding him false information through Yamato.

It also couldn't have come at a better time, because the tree seemed to have had a growth spurt overnight. No one could explain exactly what had caused this to happen. They asked for Ino's opinion and the only things she could suggest were vague ideas.

She stated that something had to change in order for plants to show a sudden change in growth habits. Since we know the soil, sun, air etc. hadn't changed it had to be something else.

It was Onoki who suggested it was probably something more intangible like chakra, which led to the idea that something had changed with Madara. As practically everyone had a turn at wondering out loud what the change could be, there was only one thought on Gaara and Kankurou's mind: Temari.

Neither of them voiced their thoughts because they both knew it wouldn't be healthy for them to hear what the others may have to say about her. But the thought of their sister was lodged in their brains. They couldn't think past it or around it. If Temari was the reason for the change in growth what did that mean? Was it a good thing for their sister or a bad omen all around?

Ino mentioned that plants often responded well to positive attitudes. Was their sister making Madara happy? Gaara saw Kankurou flinch and turn away. No one else noticed it, but the action let Gaara know the same thoughts were running through both their minds. Their sister might be the base reason for this.

"There is Temari." Gaara turned to Kankurou, but he had the same look of confusion. Neither of them said it and they both wanted to know who would bring their sister into this. Darui continued, "It was dismissed the last time we brought it up, but I think it may be relevant now. If there's been a change in Madara and if there's a chance that he could have her then she may be the variable."

Gaara didn't know why he was suddenly infuriated, he just was. He began to say something when everything was cut short by A. "No, I won't have you feeding hopeful delusions. That girl is dead and the quicker you can all realize that the quicker Gaara and Kankurou can move on." With that the discussion of Temari was ended and they moved on to implement Shikamaru's plan.

* * *

Temari was relieved to wake up to an empty bed. After their "talk" last night she was more determined than she had been in a while to find a way out. She could see her life span before her if she didn't escape and it included little Uchihas running around a constantly pregnant Temari.

Not two minutes after she got out of bed Z came in to remind her of her daily dancing obligation. She made her way to the door when he stopped her in the same manner as yesterday. "What is it Z? I'm really not in the mood to be played around with."

"Temari, please have a seat while I talk to you."

"Just tell me already. This isn't shaping up to be a great day for me."

"I need to check you over. Are you feeling any pain?"

Temari practically stomped back over to the bed to lie down. "What if I said yes? Yes, I'm in horrible pain and I need immediate expert medical attention."

"I'd proceed to check you over to see if you're telling me the truth, which you aren't. Now just lay there and listen to me."

"Fine. Everyone down here gets their way except me anyway. So why should I make it any harder for you?" Z began to check her abdomen and specifically her spleen.

"Now, why would you think I always get my way?"

"Because you're an extension of Madara and Madara always gets what he wants." She felt his chakra cease and looked up at him expectantly. "Well? What's the prognosis, Doc Z?"

"Temari, do you want to get pregnant?" Temari's face dropped. "I'm serious. Do you want to get pregnant?"

"What kind of trick question is that?" she shouted. "I'm sick of all these damn games. You know whether I say yes or no I'll be punished either way. So just tell Madara whatever you feel like saying."

"No, I'm not telling any of this to Madara. I'm going to guess your answer is no, and please try to keep your voice down." Then it clicked. Temari realized that this was serious. This was not the joking Z she was used to seeing.

"Z, why are you really asking me this? Do you know something about me that you're not telling me or Madara?"

"I may not be a great medic, but I know what birth control is."

"Why haven't you told Madara about it?"

"He never mentioned it before now."

"That's not the real reason." Temari sat up and looked straight at Z. She needed to be able to read his every movement.

"I don't like you anymore, Temari."

"I never liked you. But if you didn't like me, wouldn't you have told Madara about my birth control. That would make me miserable, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, that would make you miserable, but then I wouldn't like you even more."

"Z, are you jealous of me?"

"No. I think- I think that you're not a good influence on Madara. You've made him change his entire plan.  _I want the world of dreams!_  But…" He stood up and began to pace the room. "You have made him change everything! I don't understand it, and I probably never will. But you have to stop whatever it is you're doing."

Temari was indignant, "Stop what  _I'm_  doing?! I'm not doing anything."

"Yes you are. He's commissioned a brand new home back in Konoha. As we speak, a clone of mine is speaking to civilian contractors. It's not even hard to do with Konoha in the process of rebuilding."

"I don't  _want_  to go with him to Konoha. I don't even want to be here with him." Temari stood as well. She didn't like where this conversation was going and she wanted to be able to defend herself in case Z tried anything.

"You've even changed the tree!"

"How did I change the tree?! If I could change the tree it would be dead by now."

"As Madara meditates his thoughts and feelings are somehow communicated to the tree. It likes whatever new idea he has, and it's started to mature more quickly than anticipated."

"What new idea?"

"I don't really know. He only tells us what's necessary, but he did mention something about turning the tree into a drug or something. But whatever it is, I'm sure I won't like it and at this rate the tree might be ready in the next few days."

"What!? The next few days! That's too soon. I'm sure the Alliance won't- Well, I don't like it either. So why don't you just help me escape? That way I won't be here and Madara can go back to being the way he always was."

"Would that work?" Temari had to stop herself from smiling. How did she not realize sooner that Z wasn't very bright?

"Haven't you heard the saying, 'Out of sight, out of mind?' Of course it will work. I'll go back to just being a random shinobi. He'll probably just have you kidnap someone new."

"I don't want another person down here."

"You wouldn't actually do it. You'd just tell him that it was too difficult with the whole army watching everything. He will believe you. I don't think Madara thinks you're capable of lying to him."

"But wouldn't killing you be better than just sending you away?"

"But if you killed me then Madara could demand to see my body and he would figure out you murdered me. If you kill me, Madara will definitely kill you. If you just pretend to kill me, I can escape to the troops and then there won't be a body to examine."

"Couldn't I just give your dead body to the alliance to begin with?"

"I promise you that he will find my body. However, if I'm alive I'll do everything I can to make sure he never finds me again. And I thought we were friends. You wouldn't kill your friend would you?"

"I used to care about you. I cared about you when you were still good for Madara. This morning I realized you're more than a mere distraction."

"I won't distract him if I'm not here. Just let me go. Even if Madara is upset at first, he'll understand that it was better for him in the long run."

"But he'll kill me if I let you escape, and there's a way Madara could find out you're in the encampment."  _Damn! I'm too close to let this opportunity slip by._

"He won't kill you if we make it look like it wasn't your fault. And I'll only show myself to my brothers. No one else will know. I promise."

"I don't know. Maybe I should talk this over with Zetsu."

"No! We have to do it now before the tree grows any faster. Please, this is our only chance to get what you want. Your world of dreams is slipping away with every passing hour." Temari could practically see his mind working.

"I'm going to think about it. You still can't eat until you're with Madara so just go practice your dance."

"Can I get a robe or something to wear?"

"No, I'll come get you when it's time for your shower." Z left the room ahead of her and Temari tried to look on the bright side of things.  _At least I won't have to escape in this horrible excuse for clothing._

* * *

Lunch with Madara seemed tense. She was once again in a plain, elegant, and slim kimono passing him his plate. Madara told her that she had a clean bill of health from Z, but that he was still going to restrain himself until the medical supplies were available.

He spoke a bit about his progress with the seal and then about the tree. "You'll be happy to hear this Temari. But it looks like your time down here may be a bit shorter than I anticipated. The Shinju tree is behaving beautifully and it's growing at a rate I could have only dreamed of. Our home still won't be ready for a while, but this should still push things ahead of schedule."

"Our home?" asked Temari.

"Don't act ridiculous. I told you last night that your new home would be with me in Konoha. I'll probably have to move you in while construction is still going on, but you won't mind. Will you?"

"Of course not, Madara-sama, the sooner the better."

"Well said. Actually, I'm not exactly certain why the tree has begun to grow rapidly. I'm entertaining the idea that it has something to do with my building desire for you. Yes, I think I'm going to exhibit restraint with you until the tree is bloomed. It will serve as something to strive for and we can turn it into quite the celebration."

Temari felt sick. She was not going to be his celebration  _again_. No she had to hope that Z would help her escape. Until then she just had to focus on the small gifts given to her.  _At least I won't be raped for a while._

* * *

Sakura's good mood from that morning was completely gone. The key to Shikamaru's plan was Yamato's trust in Sakura. She hated that she was being used in this way, but she had no choice. If this was what it took to win the war then she would do what she had to.

She took a deep breath before walking into his tent. "Hello Yamato, how are you doing today?"

"Pretty good. I know you have to take my vitals and everything. So go ahead, I won't stop you."

"I'm sorry this is so bothersome to you."

"No, not at all. It's nice to have company I can count on. It's even nicer when that company isn't here to interrogate me." He smiled and Sakura couldn't help but smile back.

"Well you're right about that. I'm definitely not here to interrogate you. Actually I could use someone to talk to myself right now."

"Oh really? What's wrong? I'm a very good listener."

"Well, you wouldn't know this, but the Shinju tree has hit some kind of growth spurt. It's even grown some since this morning. Our illustrious kage have decided that we can't wait any longer. We have to attack. Half of the troops are going to attack the tree and the other half…well I'm a part of the other half."

"What's got you so worried? What is it that you're going to do?"

"We've actually managed to locate Madara. So while half of us are attacking the tree the other half are going to head for him. The plan is to preoccupy him so we can destroy the tree and if we're extremely lucky him too."

"But if you couldn't beat him before, what's different about now?"

"I don't exactly know but we have some kind of ace up our sleeve. I'll probably only find out moments before Madara does."

"Hmm…I don't like it, but I hope it works. When do you plan on launching the attack?"

"That's a secret too, but I'm willing to bet it's not going to be today. Everyone's been informed to be ready at a moment's notice."

"And are you ready?"

"Almost. After I leave you, I'm going to finish getting ready. So from here on out I'm only going to be coming by once a day first thing in the morning. I'll double check, but someone from the kitchen will be delivering your meals from here on as well."

"I can't say I'm not a little disappointed to hear that, but I sincerely hope that you're successful."

Sakura finished writing the required data in his file. "I hope so too. I'll see you again tomorrow morning." She took another calming deep breath as she left his tent. It was done. Now she just had to go and report back to Kakashi.

* * *

Temari was more than glad that their lunch was over. All he did was talk about how excited he was about everything. If she didn't know any better she would have compared him to a giddy little boy anticipating a field trip or something.

He couldn't wait for the tree to bloom. He couldn't wait to get back to Konoha. And he could barely wait to put his hands on her. All of it made her sick. The prospect of actually escaping only seemed to make it harder to deal with him.

She tried to come up with a dance for that evening, but she just couldn't concentrate on anything but Z and escaping.

After a couple of hours she finally saw Z walk through the door and she almost couldn't hide her smile. "Z, did you think about it? Do you have an answer for what we talked about earlier?"

"I talked about it with Zetsu, which was very hard to do at such a distance without informing Madara. Zetsu and I are both in agreement about how we feel about you. You need to leave."

"All you need to do is tell me how and I'll be gone."

"I can't do that. If I tell you how to leave then you could tell others how to get here. We want you gone, but we'd rather everyone die than forfeit our dream world. But Zetsu said we should keep you alive just in case Madara does find out. That way our mistake won't be irreversible."

"So you are going to tell him I died?"

"We are going to tell him you killed yourself with your own wind blades. Just remember to only reveal yourself to your brothers. Otherwise Madara may learn you're alive."

"Right, I promise no one else will know. But how are you going to get me out of here if I can't see the way?"

"You have to trust me and drink this." Z held out a small vial of clear liquid. If Temari didn't know any better she would've assumed it was water. "If you drink this you'll be unconscious for about 2 hours. You'll wake up on the other side of their encampment. It'll be about an hour's walking distance for you. That's the closest I can get you there without alerting anyone to my presence in under ten minutes."

Temari looked at the vial. It would be effortless for Z to lie to her. She could drink that and never wake up again. But what were her other options? Either way she would be free, and the possibility of seeing her brothers and escaping Madara was too tempting to pass up. She reached for the vial but Z blocked her hand.

"There's just one last thing. You need to change into your normal clothes, the clothes he caught you in."

"That's fine with me, but why? What's so important about that?"

"Honestly, we're hoping that if anyone other than your family sees you they'll think you just ran away this whole time and maybe they won't believe your story."

"That's fine with me. I'll play some of my music. That should cover for both of us until it's time for dinner." When Z returned she quickly changed, drank the vial, and hoped for the best as she waited for the drink to take effect.

* * *

Gaara sent Kankurou to work on the team to unseal the hokage in order to fight Madara. If they actually did manage to goad Madara into coming to them, they would need their fire power in battle.

What Gaara wasn't so sure about was Madara. No one knew him well. What if he chose to not respond to them? If he chose to simply ignore them, what would they do? The hokage was their last hope. From Madara's previous behavior in battle he would instantly sense the presence of the first and second hokage. So their current goal was to try to figure out how to unseal them but to only do it at the absolute last moment.

Gaara never felt so anxious before. This was much worse than the attack on his village. At least then he could protect his people. This was even worse than losing to Madara the first time around. This was definitive. If they lost this last time, everyone would suffer. There would be no do-over. He was already killed by the Akatsuki once before. He didn't think fate would be so easy on him if he visited the other world a second time.

He needed some air. He lifted the sand beneath his feet and began a flight to calm his nerves.

* * *

She cried. Temari could feel the tears running down her face.

Her hands found the ground and clutched at the grass surrounding her. She smiled as a light breeze blew the smell of trees and dirt across her face. Speckles of sunlight played on her face as the leaves rustled with the wind.

She was free. There were no more stone walls, no more dancing, and no more Madara. She sat up and laughed. She looked down at herself and wished that she could say it was all a dream. There were no obvious signs of her ordeal. If her fan and headband weren't missing she could have just claimed to have been knocked out for the last week or so.

She spent the next ten minutes breathing in the freshest air she had ever experienced. She rubbed the grass and trees. She even did a few cartwheels. It was the best she had ever felt in her life.

But now what? Temari had a big choice. She didn't have to go back to her brothers right away. She could always run as far away as her legs could carry her from everything. If they really thought she was dead no one would be looking for her. Then her brain hit a brick wall.

She would have to live in hiding forever if she didn't go back. That would make her a traitor, and she couldn't live with herself if she abandoned her family and country. She couldn't leave them when she knew first-hand what kind of madman they were up against. Even though that knowledge was exactly why she wanted to just leave it all behind her.

 _What good would I be? Sure my brothers would know that I was fine, but I couldn't actually help them fight Madara._  She never wanted to see his face again. She would be no good to anyone on a battlefield with him.

She did have information. Temari understood better than most what a little information could mean to the right person. To purposefully not give that to her brothers would be worse than just turning tail. She had to find them.

She climbed to the top of the forest canopy and was struck breathless by the Shinju tree. She had no idea how large it was. Seeing it only made her conviction stronger to go to her brothers. The thing was monstrous. How could anyone run away with that ominous plant threatening to overshadow the world and snuffing out everything good?

Temari began to cover her presence as best she could. She only thought of her brothers.

* * *

Gaara was tired, hungry, and beginning to think that he was going crazy. First it was Kiba with a knowing smile and a slap on his back. "I knew you were just like everybody else. Can't say I blame you. Actually I'm downright jealous. But you are the Kazekage, so I guess it's understandable. I'll be sure to take a cue from you when I'm Hokage."

Gaara didn't say anything because he had no idea what Kiba was talking about. Then Lee kept saying weird comments about flowers blooming before their time. Naruto joined them and loudly chimed in about how Gaara deserved to feel relaxed for a change.

What finally sent him over though was the small cough and subtle nod from Shino. That was just too much for Gaara, "What are you all talking about? Is there is something going on that I don't know about?"

Kiba slapped his forehead, "Oh man, I think we just ruined the biggest surprise of his life. Gaara, how do you feel about your favorite student, Matsuri?"

Gaara replied, "I think that she is a capable kunoichi and very loyal to Suna. She can sometimes be a little immature, but I hear that this sort of thing is common with young people. I'm starting to see it's still true for people our age as well."

"So you wouldn't get into bed with her even if she was waiting for you?"

"No. Many of the young women in my village have strange notions about me, but I do not entertain them, especially not my former student. She should know this."

"I'm sorry, Gaara. I definitely got the wrong idea. You see I was looking for you and when I went into your tent I saw Matsuri lying in your bed pretending to be sleep. I only told the people at our table and Kankurou." Gaara quickly stood up and left the dining tent. He thought Matsuri was over these little games she used to play.

He marched through the maze of tents trying to calm himself.  _Doesn't she know what something like this could do to my reputation? And now of all times?_

Gaara was contemplating sending her back home to Suna when he saw a number of Iwa shinobi exit their tents in concern. His senses were already alert from his earlier annoyance and he felt what they felt a moment later.

He turned to run back towards the dining tent when it came. It felt like the earth roared. There were no fissures in the ground and no cracks appeared, but the earth shook for a full ten seconds. Everyone was frozen in the shock of the moment.

When it ended there was mass confusion. People began running to their posts waiting for the worst news. He immediately went to their command central and was not surprised to see the leaders congregating at the same place.

"What was that?" A was livid and looking at Onoki.

Onoki looked just as upset, " _I_  don't know. I can know in an hour if it was any of my men though. I think we should all check with our shinobi to see if any of them were responsible."

Kakashi stepped in before A could yell again, "I agree. Let's meet back here in an hour and a half to compare results."

They all met back together and everyone said the same thing. They had no idea what just happened. They decided to add extra men to the night watch and that if it happened again that they would have to push up their plan even more than they already had.

During his inquiries Gaara had asked Matsuri to meet him after the meeting. He wanted to clear everything up with her and Kankurou, since he had not been present at dinner. But all that met him was another mystery.

Matsuri seemed absolutely indignant at the accusation. Gaara chose not to push the issue because he would rather forget the whole thing anyway. Luckily it was a well contained embarrassment that would never come up again.

Kankurou and Matsuri left him to return to their own tents and Gaara was thankful for the night to come. There was no way he was going to get any sleep tonight, but he could still use the time to meditate.

He entered his tent and immediately noticed the extra presence. Sitting in the middle of his bed was a person hiding under the covers. He wasn't even trying to conceal himself.

"Show yourself or I will kill you." Gaara had no patience for any kind of shenanigans tonight. If Kiba was there trying to make light of the blunder he made earlier, Gaara knew he'd have a lot of apologizing to do because he was going to take someone's arm for this poor joke.

"I mean it." Sand began to gather around the bed when he made out a muffled question.

"Are you alone?"

"I'm not falling for this. Kiba, you'd make a horrible woman because your female voice is far too manly."

The covers flew at him and he caught them just before they landed on the ground. "Now get- Are you real? Who are you?"

"It's me, Gaara. It's really me. Even though you think my voice is 'far too manly.'" Temari tried to give her voice a light tone but she couldn't pull it off. Gaara didn't move to reply. He just stared at her for a while and then threw the covers back at her.

"How did Kankurou get the scar on his left wrist?"

"He adopted a cat, named him King, and tried to pick him up too soon. The cat scratched the hell out of him and loves me more than either of you."

"When's the last time you got mad at me?"

Temari smiled, "That was when you got mad at Kankurou for telling me you stole my food with him instead of apologizing to me first. And then I caught you stealing my leftovers that same night." She laid down on the bed with her arms out. "You'll never know how glad I am you asked that."

Gaara walked over to her and she sat back up. They looked at each other for a moment and then hugged each other for a long while without words. Temari felt the tears on her back and she was glad that she wasn't the only one crying. "I love you so much, Gaara. For a moment there I thought I wasn't going to see you again."

"Temari, I don't- Tell me what to do."

"First go get Kankurou. But don't tell anyone else I'm here. I'll explain it to you once you get back."

Gaara made a sand clone and told Temari that there was no way he was going to leave only to have her disappear by the time he got back. People already thought he was crazy. He didn't need them to add delusional next to homicidal.

Temari could hear Kankurou coming. "You know we can't all function on no sleep. I had just dozed off. Don't you know that's my favorite moment of sleep? And why aren't you talking to me? If Matsuri's in your bed again it's  _your_ problem, not mine."

The clone dissipated the second Kankurou walked into the tent. All Kankurou could make out was a cloud of dust and Gaara on the bed. "What is it dear little brother?"

"Kankurou, I need you to keep your voice down. We have a visitor and we can't let the others know she's here."

"She? Who on earth could it be?" He felt a small hand go over his mouth and just as he was about to go on the offensive Temari whipped him around into a big hug.

"Please stay quiet. No one can know I'm here, and we all know you have a naturally big mouth."

"Temari! Ow! Why'd you hit me?"

"I said to keep your voice down and the first thing you do is yell my name."

"It doesn't matter. Gaara's tent has a one-way sound barrier. But, is it really you? What's my favorite food?"

"Mine."

"But how? We thought you were- but your back. Where were you?" Kankurou could see her eyes watering and hugged her again. "I'm so sorry, Temari."

"Please, just let me look at both of you. I thought I might never see either of you like this." She sat them both down next to each other on the bed and pulled a chair in front of them. "I don't say this often, but I love you two. Please never forget that."

"We don't need to say it. Now tell us what's going on and why we can't tell anyone we found you." Gaara said impatiently.

"Well the short story is that I was kidnapped by Madara. I managed to trick one of the zetsus into helping me escape. However, Madara has some way of finding out information among our troops so it's only safe for me if only you two know about me. I got the zetsu to tell Madara I killed myself and that he returned my body to the Alliance. I don't think Madara's going to buy it for long. I know that was him earlier."

"What do you mean?" asked Kankurou.

"That shaking earlier. I don't know why, but I  _know_  it was him. And I know it was about me. If he-If he knows I'm alive, I think he'll come for me, and I can't go back to him. So  _no one_  can know I'm here or alive. He told me that he fooled you all into thinking that I died."

"We never believed you were dead." Gaara said it so quickly that Temari couldn't help but smile at him. It proved that she was right about her brothers and that Madara was wrong. But then something darker came to her mind.

"Then what did you think? Did you think that I was a coward and ran away?"

"Of course not, we kind of figured out that Madara had you for some reason." Kankurou looked away from her as he said the last part of his sentence, and Temari felt a painful shame that she never knew before.

"He interrogated me for the first few days. After that, he just enjoyed torturing me, bringing me near death, and then healing me until I was like new." Temari knew she was lying horribly but she felt she had no other choice.

She didn't want her brothers to look away from her in disgust. She didn't want this shame written across her forever. They didn't need to know what he really did to her and the things he made her do. All that mattered was that she was here. She just hoped that her brothers would be satisfied with what she was willing to tell them.

"Why you? Why did he pick you out of all people? Why not me or Kankurou or Lee or Sakura?"

She turned away from them. How many times did she wonder the same thing? Madara told her it was fate, and that she had been made a gift for him by some unknown force she didn't understand. She knew there was no real answer.

"I don't really know. He said I caught his attention when I blew him away from the soldiers. I think he has some kind of strange complex when it comes to strong women, and he wanted to make me know just how weak I am compared to him. I think it made him furious that some woman had dared to fight him."

"Then why not Sakura or the Mizukage? They're strong and they fought against Madara much longer than you did. Did he know you were my sister?" asked Gaara.

"No, I don't think he knew when he first took me. I'm telling you that I don't really understand why it was me either, but what does it matter now? It's done and over with. I doubt he'll take the time again to abduct another person to torture. So just forget about it."

Gaara and Kankurou glanced at each other while Temari was turned the other way. They knew she was hiding something from them, but they wanted to believe her. They were both relieved and enraged that their sister had been tortured. Enraged for obvious reasons, but relieved because interrogation and torture was a part of any shinobi's job. It was something they had all prepared for and that many had trained for. The alternative they had been contemplating was cruel and demeaning. What they had imagined was a complete dismissal of her abilities and a reduction of her humanity.

"I was just worried that it was my fault that you were targeted. There didn't seem to be any other reason, and it was the only one that made sense. I'm sorry, Temari." Temari turned back towards them and hugged them again.

"I don't care. I'm just glad to be with you two again. Let's stop talking about what happened to me. I need to tell you both what I know about his plans so you can use the information."

"Don't you need to see a doctor or something? How do we know you're actually healed?"

"No! No one else can know I'm here or he might find out. He can't find out I'm here! Do you understand me? If you think there's a chance that this will get out then I need to leave and get as far away from here as possible."

"Ok, we understand, but isn't there something we can do?" asked Kankurou.

Temari looked around the room. "I don't want to sleep on the ground. Could you ask for a cot and then either you or Gaara can sleep in a sleeping bag while me and the other person has the bed or the cot? I'd appreciate it."

"Of course." Kankurou stood to leave, but Temari stopped him.

"Wait until I tell you about Madara though." For the next fifteen minutes Temari told them about the seal she saw and Madara's plans with the parts about her excluded. She told them about his plans for some kind of drug derived from the tree that seemed to make the tree happy and how he wanted to be emperor. Then she replicated as much of the seal as she could remember.

"That's all I know. So what do you think?"

Kankurou spoke up first, "First off, emperor? He can't be serious. We don't even have an emperor now. And how are we going to explain this new information to everyone? It's not like we can lie and say we overheard it. And no offense Temari, but if he was torturing you, how do you know he wasn't just feeding you false information? Most people don't traipse out their secret plans in front of someone they're torturing."

"He did that stuff in front of me  _as_  torture. He never expected that I would escape from him alive. I really think everything I saw and heard from him was genuine and sincere. Now if he decides to change his plans then there's nothing I can say about that."

"I don't think you understand. You were gone for quite a while and it's easy to manipulate prisoners. Isn't it possible that he let you escape just so you could tell us this?" asked Kankurou.

"Look, I know what you're saying is true, but I don't think that's the case. I'm fine with whatever your decision is. I've done all I can do for this fight at the moment. I'd just like to sleep and eat. Is there any way you guys could bring me some food along with the cot?"

"Yeah, I'll go find some food while Kanurou gets a cot. Are you fine here by yourself?"

"I was here all by myself before you came in. I think I can manage a bit longer."

Gaara and Kankurou left the tent together and walked a little ways before they said anything to each other. Kankurou was the first to break the silence. "I'm sure she's really Temari, but how do we know she's not under Madara's influence? Couldn't she be a spy for him without knowing she is?"

"I considered the same thing. I'm going to take this seal to Kakashi to see what he thinks about it."

"Are you going to tell him about Temari?" asked Kankurou.

"No, not if I can help it. Even if Madara did send her here, if it gets back to him that word has gotten around about her he might come back to get her. Whether she's being used by him or not, I won't allow him to take her again."

"I don't think she told us everything. I think Madara may have gone farther than your conventional torture session."

"I wouldn't be surprised. That man is unlike anything we've ever seen. You didn't actually fight him. There was something manic and a bit frightening about him. I wouldn't put anything past him, and I can't imagine the terror he must have made Temari feel. No one should be in a room alone with that man."

"But at least we know where Madara is. Now we just have to convince everyone else without releasing our source. I'll meet you back at your tent."

Gaara stopped in front of Kakashi's tent before making his presence known. It was a bit late and he hoped that he didn't find the Hokage in an awkward position. "Kakashi, are you in there? I need to speak to you about something extremely important."

"Come on in." Gaara entered to find Kakashi sitting in a folding chair reading his infamous orange book.

"I'm glad you're not busy. I have parts of a seal that I can't decipher. Could you look it over and let me know what you think?"

"How important is this seal?"

"Very."

"Just leave it on the bed. Can I ask where you got it?"

"You can ask anything you like. But I can't give you an answer to that. How long do you think it will take you?"

"I'll look at it tonight and talk to you in the morning."

* * *

Temari lay on the bed unable to go to sleep. She was hyperaware of every little sound. She was almost surprised that Gaara had actually managed to fall asleep. He was on the cot and Kankurou had the floor.

She was beginning to get used to the sounds when something unfamiliar startled her senses. Someone was coming to Gaara's tent. Her first thought was Madara, but she knew that was impossible. She quickly changed her appearance and hid underneath the bed.

Gaara and Kankurou sensed the presence as well and they were both up and preparing for the worst. Kankurou rolled his sleeping bag up and hid it quickly in a scroll just in time for the person approaching to poke his one eye into the tent.

"Yo, I figured you'd be up."

"I wasn't up until you came."

"That's what I meant." He walked to the nearest chair and took a seat. "I took a quick glance at that seal you showed me and it's kept me up since then. Where did you get it?"

"Why does that matter?"

"It matters because I'd like to know. It may also affect my interpretation of it. It's extremely complex and very original. Of course it's not complete but it's basically a seal for a large number of people that depends on a large source of power. That's all I could be sort of certain about. I know that neither of you wrote it which only leaves the other person in this tent."

Kankurou slowly moved closer to the door while Gaara sat on the bed. Gaara looked around the room before saying, "I don't see anyone else."

"I don't see anyone else either, but I smell someone else. And it smells like a  _she_. Now if this were Kankurou's tent I might just assume he happened to have a nighttime visitor. But this is your room, and I don't think you're the type who would invite his brother in on the fun. So why don't you just have whoever it is come on out."

Kankurou took a step towards Kakashi but Gaara signaled for him to stop. "Before that happens I need you to promise to keep this conversation inside this tent. There's already a permanent one-way sound barrier preventing anyone from listening in on us so please refrain from making any quick hand movements. Do I have your word?"

"That depends on why I can't tell anyone."

"We have information that Madara has a way of getting information from our camp and we can't hint in any way we know what we know. They only way to guarantee that is to keep that information from as many people as possible. Do you give us your word?"

"Fine, mostly because I'd like to know if my guess is right on who is underneath your bed."

Gaara sighed, "Come on out. He already knows you're here." A moment passed where nothing happened. Kakashi began to say something when he finally noticed movement from beneath the bed. First a pale hand followed by a lithe body and blonde hair.

"Temari, how are you doing? We've all been very worried about you."

"I'm fine. I wrote the seal from what I could remember. I saw Madara working on it. He told me a few things about his plans as well." Temari once again told how she escaped and everything that Madara had told her while omitting his plans for her.

"Well I'm glad that you're relatively safe now. But where did he say you fit in with this seal?" Gaara and Kankurou both looked at each other amazed that they didn't ask that very thing.

"I think he either planned on me being dead by then or just like everyone else. He only took me to torture me for when he was bored or stuck on a problem. I don't think I was anything special to him."

"Did he ever say why he chose you?"

"Like I told my brothers, I don't really know. But I think it was because I was the first strong female he saw in the battle. He seemed obsessed with making those weaker than him know it, especially if they were women."

"Why women?"

Temari's irritation began to show. "I'm not a psychiatrist. Maybe he has mommy issues. I don't know. I just know what he told me. And he told me that I was a weakling who had no place trying to challenge him in a fight. So I guess that's why. Are you all happy with yourselves? Now we all know that I'm the absolute worst kunoichi in the world and Madara was offended by my mere presence on the battlefield.

"I'm going for a walk. I need to get out of this tent. I've had enough of being in enclosed places and it's been a while since I've seen the moon." Temari changed into Kankurou and quickly left the tent.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make her so upset."

"It's not all your fault." said Kankurou. "We asked her a lot of questions earlier. She's clearly been through a lot and I think she might be regretting coming back to tell us what she knew. I know my sister and she resents the suspicion that comes with her situation. She understands it, but she still doesn't like it."

"Well, I won't tell anyone, but you know that she might be in the same predicament that Yamato is in. Madara could be using her and she doesn't realize it."

"We're aware. We brought it up to her and she seemed to think it wasn't an option. She said that there was no way that Madara would have knowingly let her escape. At least now we actually have an idea of where to attack Madara. If he really is living underground near the tree he's not far away at all. I wonder why Naruto didn't spot him."

"I do too. Tomorrow I'm going to discretely have him check there again and see what we find. I usually eat alone so I'll bring breakfast and lunch to Temari."

"How far along are you with the hokage?" asked Gaara

"I think we might be able to unseal them sometime tomorrow. We have people working on it around the clock. I know what you're thinking. If Madara even thinks there's a chance that Temari is alive and able to talk to us, he's going to attack as soon as possible."

"We'll talk again tomorrow. And thank you for offering to bring Temari her meals. All three of us appreciate it."

* * *

Temari didn't wander far. In fact she didn't wander at all. She went to the roof of Gaara's tent and just laid back to watch the stars and the moon. She finally felt like she could breathe again.

She knew they didn't mean her harm, but everything was so frustrating. Why  _did_ this have to happen to her? Now everyone would always look at her with suspicion until Madara was defeated and she was proven innocent.

If it wouldn't go against her, she would just run away right now. She already told them everything she knew about Madara's plans. What else was left for her? She saw her broken fan and headband in Gaara's room and she couldn't even bring herself to put her shinobi band back on. Putting that on would mean that she would have to fight Madara when the inevitable battle came.

She admitted to herself that she was afraid to face him. She was more than afraid. What would he do to her if she was caught by him? Maybe she could try to force him to kill her in a fight…No, he would make her suffer. She stopped the conversation in her head, because she knew there was nothing she could do about it until the moment came.

She felt someone coming and stood up to leave when a voice stopped her. "Hey Kankurou, I didn't expect to find you up here. Can't sleep or something?" It was Shikamaru.

"Or something. I was just leaving though. Why are you up here?" asked Temari.

"I need at least two hours of doing nothing in order to stay sane and there just isn't enough time in the day. So instead I get on top of my tent and watch the clouds go by the moon for a while and just think."

"Well there's a lot to think about." replied Temari and Shikamaru nodded his assent. "I'm going to go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Are you sleeping in Gaara's tent?" he asked.

"Yeah, we had to discuss something and it was just easier to sleep over. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Good night."

"It's been a pleasure. Good night." Shikamaru stayed on the tent until he saw Kankurou enter Gaara's tent and then headed back to his own.

Temari found Gaara and Kankurou waiting up for her. "Don't worry boys; I'm not going to run out on you just yet. By the way, Kankurou you had a conversation with Shikamaru on the roof. You had a hard time getting to sleep after a conversation with Gaara."

Kankurou nodded then asked, "Did you treat him like an ass?"

"No, why would I do that?"

"Because I don't really like him that much. Honestly, I think he'd like to get in your pants…or maybe Ino's pants…maybe both. Either way, I'm not cool with it. So I don't really like him. He probably realized you weren't me."

"Well whatever, just come up with some excuse. Say it was Gaara or Matsuri or whomever. You'll come up with something."

* * *

That morning found everyone in an agitated state. The Shinju tree seemed to have had a power surge overnight. At this rate it would be fully bloomed by tomorrow which meant that they needed to attack it today.

Their fragile plan was to try to goad Madara into appearing and then unsealing the hokage as a surprise attack on him. It would require good timing to accomplish the element of surprise they needed.

Kakashi was looking forward to having his breakfast alone, but he didn't forget about his promise to Gaara. He entered the tent without knocking and was pleased to find an imitation of Gaara waiting for him.

"You can drop the henge with me. I'd prefer to eat my breakfast with a beautiful young lady than a brooding young man."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then I'll just have to get used to looking at Gaara while I eat." Temari maintained her Gaara henge. They sat down at a small table in the corner, and they were both thankful for the silence they gave each other. Temari had had enough entertaining at meals to never do it again, and Kakashi was mentally preparing himself for the imminent meeting with Madara.

They finished quickly and Kakashi gathered their dishes and trash. "I thought that I should let you know that we're probably going to face Madara today. I know what it's like to be tortured by someone and know that he's still out there. Lucky for me I won't have to face my torturer again, but I think there must be something embedded in the Uchiha genes that make them all a little off and geniuses at tormenting us regular people. Hopefully I'll see you for lunch, Kazekage."

The morning went by quickly for everyone. The Kage all met and decided that they would aim for an attack time of five pm. The hokage were ready to be unsealed and everything was in order except one thing. They needed Sakura to tell Yamato their time of attack so they could try to get Madara's to show up.

No one there knew of the new information that came from Temari. Gaara, Kankurou, and Kakashi had decided that it would be an unnecessary distraction from their current attack. They did manage to direct a large amount of their forces to attack beneath the tree under the guise of going for its roots. It was suggested as a way to avoid its chakra draining properties.

A was about to close the meeting when Shikamaru cleared his throat. "There is one last thing we don't want to talk about. What if Madara doesn't believe we know where he is? We'll just be attacking the tree."

A responded first, "Then we'll just continue to attack the tree with all we have. I really don't think Madara will be able to ignore Hashirama's presence."

"But what if he does? He's intelligent. It's very possible that he'll see through our plan and just let us hack away at the plant."

"Shikamaru, I think you might be worrying too much. Perhaps luck is on our side. I mean, wouldn't it be quite hilarious if he was living inside the tree or beneath it or something? We would be attacking his hideout without even knowing it." Kakashi said while pointedly ignoring any looks coming from Gaara and Kankurou.

"I seriously doubt that. Didn't Naruto check it?" asked Shikamaru.

"I was thinking about that. Naruto, is it possible that the tree could mask Madara's presence if he were staying somewhere close to it?"

Naruto was slightly astonished, "I never thought of that. It's possible. Do you want me to double check?"

"It doesn't really matter at this point. If you find the time, it wouldn't hurt, but we're attacking either way."

"Exactly. If Madara doesn't show up then we just continue going at the plant until we can't anymore or until we can't do any more damage." said Onoki. "This conversation is over. Everyone prepare. The next time we'll see each other is in front of that tree at five pm."

Kakashi was the first to leave the tent. There was a lot he wanted to do and he didn't want to run into Gaara or Kankurou before he met with Temari for lunch.

He sighed before entering Gaara's tent with his and Temari's lunch. He wasn't sure about what he was about to do, but it had to be done.

"Good afternoon. Will it be Gaara again or will Temari be joining me this time?" Temari did not find him amusing and changed her appearance from Gaara to Kankurou.

"Neither. But thank you for bringing me food. It's nice to know I'm going to eat on a regular basis." Temari saw something different in Kakashi from this morning and she was in no mood to play games. "I can tell you have something on your mind, so just spill it."

"I see you like to get to the point. That's an admirable trait. I do have something to say to you. It's really more of a warning. I don't know if you're going to show up at our attack on the tree and on Madara. I would assume you would, but I would understand if you didn't.

"We're counting on Madara making an appearance and there's a slight chance that he won't react to our prodding. If that's the case, I'm prepared to make your presence known. I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to do it, but I will. We will definitely lose if we never get the chance to confront Madara, and if you're the key to that then so be it."

Temari had stopped eating, and she almost stopped breathing. The first thought that came to her was to kill him. She was already holding chopsticks. It wouldn't take much to use those to take out his visible eye. Her thumb twitched and Kakashi held her wrists in a firm grip.

"Don't do anything rash. I'm just giving you a warning. If you don't want it to happen, then run as far away as you can from here as soon as you can, because if I can find you, I'll reveal you."

"What makes you think he would show himself for me? I'm just a random person he tortured for a week."

"A random person that escaped from him. If he finds out your alive, his pride will force him to kill you." He saw her face change and knew something was off. Shinobi didn't lose their edge at the threat of a fight. "Unless there's something you're not telling me. Did he let you escape and you think he won't come for you?"

"I know he won't come for me, so just forget about bringing me into it. It wouldn't do anyone any good."

"If he let you escape, I have to tell the others that you're a spy for him."

Temari stood from the table and walked away from him. "And what if you do? Will they kill me for being an unwitting traitor? Or just lock me up? I don't mind getting arrested if it'll keep me away from Madara. No, go right ahead and tell people he let me escape. No one would let you bring me within a mile of him. You'd really be doing me a favor."

"I see. I just wanted to let you know as a courtesy. I haven't told this to your brothers because I know they would protest it even though it's the right thing to do. I'm giving you a choice here. It can be done with dignity or I can drag you out there like the little girl you want to act like."

"Leave, Kakashi."

"I haven't finished my lunch yet."

"I don't care. Get the hell out of this tent right now. I mean it." Kakashi slowly stood up and began walking towards the door.

"I'll just leave the food here with you. Hopefully, I'll see you later on. We're beginning the attack at five pm."

Temari looked over to the small clock on Gaara's table. It was almost 1:30. She figured that her brothers would come by before the battle to check in on her. She didn't know what they would ask of her but it couldn't be worse than her conversation with Kakashi.

Time went by slowly as she waited for them. Finally their voices reached her and she hid beneath the bed until she heard the tent flap close. She sat on the bed and readied herself for whatever they were going to say, but she was surprised when nothing came.

"Well?"

"We talked and decided that whatever you choose to do is yours to decide. We're not going to try to influence you." answered Gaara.

"Yeah, and we also wanted to see you one last time. Because I told Gaara that even if you did join us, and I'm betting that you are, that you wouldn't look like you." Temari smiled so big that her cheeks began to ache.

"I know I don't say it enough, but I love you two. Please stay alive."

"Stop saying the l-word. But you know the same goes for you too. Don't scare us like that again. Next time have the courtesy to put in a formal leave request." Temari playfully hit Kankuro on the side of the head before pulling him and Gaara into a hug. "You know, I think you've hugged us more in the last twenty-four hours than you have our whole lives."

"Shut up."

"I think Kankurou has a point. I don't think you've told us you loved us more either. You'd better be careful or people might get the wrong idea. I have an image to uphold." Temari pushed her brothers away from her in mock disgust.

"I really can't stand you guys sometimes."

"That's more like it. See you later, sis. Gaara needs to go lead and I need to make sure my group is ready in case we find something 'unexpected' when we start digging underground. Let's all meet back here when this is over."

Temari watched them leave and noted that she needed to get ready as well. There was only forty-five minutes left until their attack. She knew that if she were to really fight that her identity would be revealed in an instant. Her plan was to disguise herself as a random male Suna shinobi. Her body type was similar to Kankurou's and she made her hair light brown instead of blonde. She wanted to blend in as much as possible.

She found her way to the armory and got a spare battle fan she stored in a scroll. She only planned on using it as a last resort or when they needed to perform group wind attacks. She also picked up general shinobi supplies and what would be her main weapon: two katana blades that she could infuse with her wind based chakra.

She practiced with her blades until she noticed everyone heading in one direction. She found Gaara's division and stood with a group of Ame nin so no one would ask her any questions or get suspicious.

* * *

They were finally beginning. Gaara's division was focusing on the roots of the plant and the ground. Once Madara showed up, if he did show up, they would focus on supporting the attack teams. They were going to be more support than anything else. Gaara also told them that once Madara showed up that they should listen to Shikamaru or Kankurou. They would be in charge while he handled more direct attacks with the other kage and leaders.

Temari stayed toward the back of the crowd during the pep talk A gave everyone. She wasn't really listening but whatever he said seemed to work. The crowd cheered and the mood seemed to be a little less tense.

Temari loved pretending to be a guy. She felt like fewer people paid attention to her when she appeared male. So when she hung back from the groups beginning their concentrated attack on the tree and the area around it she didn't feel as if she would be noticed.

Everyone moved in a calm controlled way. They knew there was no real danger yet and they were enjoying causing some damage. Five minutes had passed and Temari began to think that this was going to be a pointless endeavor. She didn't know how far exactly underground he was located, but it was obvious to her that it was too deep for their actions to make Madara nervous.

He may not even be there anymore. Why would anyone stay in an underground bunker when you heard a rumor they were attacking the tree  _and_ they might know where you are? Temari knew Madara was smarter than that. She hoped that they would unseal the hokage ahead of schedule because there was just no way he was showing up without some type of bait.

She was observing the different earth techniques being used when she noticed the crowd change. The earth users were stopping and Temari wanted to know why. The other troops focused on the tree were still acting as usual. She pushed her way from the back towards some Iwa shinobi to find out what was happening.

"Did you feel that?"

"How could I not? Someone go get Shikamaru and tell him what happening." Temari did not like what she was hearing. She spotted Kankurou already running towards the kage in front when she was violently pushed back by the crowd.

Rock, dirt, and a few shinobi flew through the air and Temari pulled out her twin swords. She couldn't make out anything because of the dust cloud the explosion caused and she almost yelled out for her squad to blow it away when they did so a moment later.

The encampment was on an elevated bank of land, but the area around the tree was mostly flat with a few inclines here and there. Temari desperately wanted to get on higher ground but there was none to be had. A loud thud and excited voices drew her eyes to the left.

"It worked!" Confused excited voices were all she could here, until a voice entered her head. It was Ino! She didn't know Ino could do this, but she noticed no that one else was surprised.

"Madara has arrived. Everyone get into the position your squadron leader told you. As expected he's approaching the kage, but everyone should be ready to go on signal." People instantly began to shift around and Temari just moved so she wouldn't stick out. The shinju tree seemed to be on the highest area of land in the valley and she looked for her brother.

She found him instantly and pushed through the crowd to get closer. She noticed Madara hadn't moved since he approached them and Temari wanted to know why they hadn't attacked him yet. What were they waiting for? She needed to hear what they were saying.

Her ears strained to filter out the other voices but the closer she got the quieter people were. She stopped at what she felt was a safe enough distance to not be noticed but close enough to hear everything.

"We can't trust anything this man says. Gaara, I understand why you didn't share this, but just ignore what he's saying. It's a trick." yelled Onoki.

"It's not a trick. I want her body. I'll be sure to give her a proper burial where she belongs. I promise that if you do this I won't kill you all right now." Temari couldn't believe it. He even wanted control of her after he thought she was dead.

"Of course he won't kill everyone, he's going to put us in his dream world." said Mei smoothly.

"No! I have no reason for that anymore. I see no reason to let everyone get what they want except me. I'm tired of always losing! Why should I be the only one who loses everything?" Madara lost the calm edge to his voice and his face became distorted. His eyes widened and darkened and his hands balled into fists. "Trust me when I tell you that I had already decided to kill you all. But if I did that, it may take me a very long time to locate her remains. It will be in everyone's best interest to just do as I say."

"And then what? What if we do give her to you? We would just be in the same situation we're in right now. We're not here to answer to your whims, and we're not going to  _bargain_  with you for our lives. Not anymore." spat Onoki.

Temari hadn't seen Gaara move an inch this whole time. She couldn't see his face but she could tell that he was pissed. Gaara's voice was so quiet Temari had trouble hearing him ask, "Why would you want the body of someone you tortured? You're the reason she's dead." A flinched almost imperceptibly at the image the question conjured up. Temari knew they were all picturing a young girl's body in horrible condition and then imagining if it was their sister.

She pushed forward a bit more. Madara stared at Gaara before tilting his lips into a small smile, "Torture is a matter of perspective." A small gasp escaped Mei. Kakashi took a step back and nodded to Onoki. Everyone tensed and Temari just wanted to punch him in his pale face.

Sand began to kick up around an unmoving Gaara and Temari mentally told him and Kankurou, wherever he may be, to stay calm. The joke was on him, because she wasn't dead.

Everyone was looking to Gaara for his response. "I would never you give you my sister. I wouldn't do it if she was alive, and I won't now that she's gone. She is someone you've lost forever." With that Kakashi signaled a group of people that had formed a circle. Temari recognized Shizune, Sakura, and Maki among them.

A lavender chakra encircled them and four small seals inside the circle began to glow. Madara looked over to them and A took that opportunity to go for him. He used his speed to land a punch to Madara's chest and knocked him back from the tree.

The crowd he flew into fled quickly giving Madara and the kage plenty of space to move in. "I see you've all healed up nicely. But what's the point? I've fought you all before and this won't be any different." He reached behind him and unhooked the large black and white fan from his back ready to deflect whatever they had planned.

"It will be different, because we're here on time. You won't defeat us again." As Hashirama said those words he and the three other kage walked towards him ready to fight.

Temari wasn't exactly sure which of the hokage was speaking but she didn't really care. For the first time in a long time she was happy to see someone from Konoha.


	12. Lost and Found

Madara was more than ready to let out his building aggression. He still couldn't believe that Z had been so stupid. First he let Temari harm herself, and then he made decisions about her without consulting him. He was getting angry again just thinking about that imbecile. How dare he give Temari's body back to them! If he didn't think that the zetsus were incapable of lying to him, he wouldn't have even believed Z.

The only zetsu he thought capable of such deceit was Black Zetsu. And since he was dead, Madara couldn't picture any of the white zetsus doing such a thing to him.

However, even though Madara was sure the zetsu was telling him the truth there was still something in the back of his mind telling him something wasn't right about the whole thing. The feeling only grew as he reached the surface and the awaiting shinobi army. He felt as if he was missing something right in front of him.

But while looking at the trash in front of him that thought was pushed to the background. Madara hated that he had to talk and negotiate with these people for what already belonged to him.

He saw the lavender chakra growing from the corner of his eye. He could tell that it was a summoning circle, but something else caught his attention.

There was a hint of something familiar and lovely in the air, and he turned towards the smell.

The momentary distraction allowed the Raikage to land a hard hit on him. They all assumed Madara was distracted by the unsealing of the hokage, but he wasn't. He expected that move from them. They were unimaginative, and the past hokage were all they could manage.

However, Madara had to admit that seeing his old friend again got him in the mood for a good fight. Then he remembered that there would be no Temari to celebrate with and he became enraged all over again. He and Hashirama had a quick back and forth while he grabbed his fan and scythe.

"I'm glad to see we've made an impression on you. I haven't seen you this impassioned for a long time." said Tobirama.

Hashirama added, "I don't even think you were like this the last time we fought. But it doesn't matter. I have to put an end to you now."

"A good dance _would_ do wonders for my mood." Madara smiled and looked from Hashirama to Tobirama. "But I've already beaten all of you. There is nothing left for me in this world anymore."

Temari's stomach clenched at the mention of "a good dance." She was noticeably distressed and a few of the shinobi nearby mistook it for pre-battle jitters. Everyone was on high-alert and it was only natural to notice every little movement around them.

An Ame nin next to her whispered, "Don't worry. Just stick to the plan. He's so focused on the bigwigs up there he won't notice people like us. Just try not to be collateral damage." Temari looked down at her and nodded, but the girl's words did nothing for her. She knew that one good look through Madara's eyes would render her henge completely useless. She told herself that when the action started she would try to stay as far away from him as she could while still being able to hear everything.

"Now where is that loud little fox?" Madara looked over towards the encampment and nodded. "There he is. He's far too powerful to hide. When he shows up I'll start to get serious."

"That's a mistake you won't live to regret." said A. "Hokage have you all gotten our plan?"

"Yes, we've been briefed by Yamanaka." Hashirama entered his sage mode.

"You're not the only one who can do that, remember?" Madara followed suit returning his fan and scythe to his back and activating the Six Paths Sage mode.

Temari had never seen Madara as a sage, and her chakra spiked in response to it. Her legs went numb, and she stumbled in place. He was so powerful she could barely comprehend it. He looked like he didn't even belong in this world.

She had seen him pull down meteorites, and she still wasn't prepared for him to have power like this. This was much greater than any jinchuriki she had ever met. He felt more powerful than all of them put together.

She thought of what he told her about Hagoromo and how he believed himself to be some kind of reincarnation of his son. Was this what he was referring to? She remembered that he hinted that perhaps she and her siblings were reincarnations of Hagoromo's brother's children. She, nor any of her siblings, could not hope to have power like his. He was crazy to think she was involved in his fate this way.

Her mind immediately went to what happened later that same night. An unwanted image of him over her painfully thrusting into her for the first time set off a panic attack. She felt smothered by him all over again and she turned away from the fighting ahead of her.

She could feel his chakra everywhere snuffing out her own. She was hyperventilating and she couldn't get herself to calm down. People were starting to notice her, and she needed to leave.

Every pair of eyes on her stung. Some of the looks were pitying while others were admonishing. She appeared to just be a guy afraid of a hard fight. Temari understood both of the emotions people had for her. She had them herself.

Temari's mind started to go to the dark places she had been living in and she realized that Madara probably never saw her as a shinobi, just as some toy version of one. All of the pain and fear she tried to leave behind came rushing back to her.

A hand landed on her shoulder and she almost crushed it taking it off of her. "Maybe you should go to the medics in the back. You don't look so well." Temari looked down at the Ame nin and only managed to nod her agreement.

She clumsily made her way through the crowd when all sound ceased. It suddenly became too quiet. The low murmur of the crowd as well as the louder main conversation had all ceased. She reluctantly turned to see what was going on and her heart stopped. Everything and everyone blurred except him.

He smiled. It wasn't a smirk or a half smile; it was a wide smile with teeth that Temari would never forget. She felt her vision tunnel and reminded herself to breathe.

_ You are a shinobi, Temari. Get it together! _

She contemplated running away, but the thought swiftly passed. There was no way she could outrun him. But what could she do? She went through her options and there was only one choice that allowed her to still live with herself. She steeled her resolve, turned completely towards him, straightened herself, and planted her feet.

Everyone's eyes were on her wondering why Madara would concern himself with some coward from Suna trying to run to the back of the crowd. Those who could discern saw that she was in a henge, but they still couldn't tell who was under the disguise.

She struggled to reign in her heart rate and breathing. The thought of everything about to be revealed in front of everyone finally gave her the strength to regain her composure. Most of them still didn't know it was her. If she could hold the henge she might still be able to salvage some of her dignity out of this. They didn't have to know Madara was concerned about _Temari_. She could still remain an anonymous shinobi.

She lifted her blades and readied herself. She wasn't going back to him without a fight. Temari would at least try to make him acknowledge her desire to be free of him and hopefully others would join in before her true self was revealed.

Kakashi shunshied to Shikamaru and Ino while Gaara ran between her and Madara. Gaara raised his hand ready to fight, "I won't let you get past me."

Hashirama and the other kage were obviously confused and a little deflated. What was so important about this random shinobi? They could all see that it was someone in disguise but nothing else seemed important about the person. Hashirama yelled, "Madara, I don't know what's going on here, but you'd better deal with us first."

Madara answered without taking his eyes off Temari, "Or what? You'll deal with _me_ first? I'm honestly glad to see you all again, but I've already told you that I have nothing to gain from this encounter. However it seems that there is still something left for me in this world. Hashirama, were we ever friends?"

"You know that you were the closest person I had to a best friend."Hashirama answered.

"Then I'd like to introduce you to someone special."

Hashirama tried to discreetly whisper but failed horribly, "Madara, now is not really the time for this, but I never knew you were interested in men. You could have told me. I knew there was a reason your hair was always better than mine."

Madara muttered and shook his head in disbelief, "You're still an idiot."

Tobirama sighed and put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "I think that's a _kunoichi_ from Suna."

Gaara cut in, "She's _my_ sister. You're not going to touch her, and you're not going to take a step off of this battlefield." Temari sighed and dropped her henge. There was no point in keeping up her charade any longer. After all, Gaara only had one sister.

Madara chuckled, "Kazekage, you have a bad habit of letting things get away from you. If you couldn't stop me from taking Shukaku, how do you plan on stopping me from taking her? I've already done it once."

Hashirama stepped forward, "Madara this is insane. It's clear that the girl doesn't want to be with you. Why pursue this? Just fight us and leave her alone."

"I will fight you but not near her." In an instant he was behind Temari. She turned to slash him with a katana but he knocked her out by the time she faced him.

Madara caught her falling body and blades. Gaara sent some sand to try to pry her away from him but Madara leapt away far too quickly.

The shinobi around Madara began to run away and Madara felt the reason behind him. " **Sage Art: Odama Rasenshuriken!"** He turned and absorbed the jutsu with his Rinnegan from an inbound Naruto before frowning.

"I hope you have more than that."

Naruto landed next to Gaara and the other kage. "Sorry I'm a little late. I needed to drop off some clones at Mount Myoboku. Dark Kurama still isn't completely comfortable with the toads. Uhh, why is Madara holding Temari?"

Madara created a clone and handed Temari to him. Then he looked around to gauge his new situation. Now that he had Temari, he wanted to go back to the plan he had prepared this past week.

If Temari had never left he would not have even shown up to confront them. He would have just sent more power to the tree and waited everything out. Now that he was out in the open he had two obstacles to overcome.

First he needed the moon out. It wasn't going to rise for another two hours. Second, with the tree at its current progression, he could enact Infinite Tsukuyomi and then Divine: Deep Forest Emergence to spread it throughout the world, but it would drain him considerably. He would have to take care of the hokage before he enacted the Tsukuyomi or he'd be a sitting duck.

He needed to stall them for as much time as possible. The clone zoomed away with Temari. He hoped that a few of them would follow it and try to get her back.

Gaara and Kankurou watched Madara's clone carry their sister away, and they both needed no more confirmation that she had lied to them. Madara had ignored _Hashirama_ when he noticed her. And his refusal to fight with her near was more than an admission that he cared for her in a way that no one foresaw. Gaara realized that they had found his weakness, and he could barely believe it was his sister.

Gaara knew better than most that love could be the worst and/or best thing in the world. And coming from a man like Madara, it was probably only the worst for Temari. The only way he could help his sister now was by killing Madara not chasing after her.

Kankurou didn't bother to think that much about it. He turned towards Sai. "I need a bird. I'm following them."

"I don't think that's the smartest thing to do."

"I don't care! Give me-"

"Kankurou, this is Kakashi." Kakashi's voice filled his head and it was impossible to ignore it. "Calm down. We might be able to use this and get Temari back. Just stay there and stay calm."

"Fine." He calmed more when the next voice he heard over the crowd was Gaara's.

"Where are you taking her?" asked Gaara.

"Don't worry, Kazekage. I won't hurt her until I've won. She was never meant to be here." Now it was clear to everyone that Temari was more than simply a prisoner to Madara. She was someone he refused to lose, and he taunted it in front of her family.

Gaara struggled to ignore his first comment, "She's a shinobi of the Allied Forces. This is exactly where she should be. What gives you the right to decide that for her?"

"I took the right. If you have a problem with-" Tiny grains of hardened sand began to rain down on him. Gaara hoped to enter his blood stream again and explode him from the inside. Madara formed the Gudodama (Truth seeking orb) into an umbrella shielding him from the sand rain. "I learned from last time not to underestimate your techniques." Tobirama came from beneath the ground but Madara moved back before any real damage could be done. Tobirama only managed to stab him through the foot.

"Damn, I wanted something more vital." But Madara's foot was already half-healed by the end of Tobirama's sentence.

Madara smirked, "I see there's still nothing you can do about me taking what I want. Be thankful that I'm going to settle for destroying the way of this world and not all of you."

Naruto finally spoke up after getting caught up on what he missed. "You're a hypocrite, Madara! Why are you doing this if there is something you'd like to save? Temari is just like the rest of us. Are you going to put her in the Tsukuyumi too?"

"Do you really want to know what I'm going to do with her while the rest of you are dreaming?"

Naruto thankfully didn't catch the implication, but everyone else did. Gaara and Kankurou were seething. The only thing stopping them from doing something stupid was the multiple voices in their head via Ino. "If there's even one person you want to save, then you can't put your plan in motion."

"There's my boy." Minato beamed with pride from his son's words and bravery. _I just hope he remembers I won't be able to help him as much as last time. He's the only one left with any biju powers._

Madara countered, "That one person is the _reason_ I'm putting this plan in motion and not killing all of you. Now that she's gone we can finally fight without distractions."

"You're wrong." said Naruto, "You have to protect yourself _and_ the tree. All we have to do is destroy it. But I'm telling you right now that I'm personally going to kick your butt all around that damn tree before burning it to the ground."

Madara nodded, "I'd like to see that. Although, I'm afraid it would only happen in your dreams. But I've never won a fight by underestimating someone's skills, so let's make this fight a bit more even then, shall we?" Madara erected a strong barrier around them. "If I have to stay near the tree, so do you."

Vines from the tree broke through the ground and began strangling and draining any shinobi they could touch. It was the same as the last battle and many tried to run but this time there was nowhere to run.

They were all in for a long and close fight.


	13. In the Bag

Temari came back to consciousness on high alert. Everything that had just occurred came back to her instantly and she jumped up ready to fight. She saw her blades on the ground next to her and quickly picked them up. She scanned for Madara, but she couldn't sense him. She checked for the scroll holding her fan and her other supplies and found them all there.

She looked around and tried to figure out where she was. It was a heavily wooded area, and by the look of the flora, she was closer to Konoha than any other land. That's when she felt a presence. She whipped around to her right and saw him. The situation reminded her of the first time he snatched her from her life.

"You're a clone. Aren't you?" He nodded once slowly.

"Are you still fighting the Allied Forces?" Another nod.

"How long have I been out?"

"About thirty minutes, and you are about thirty minutes away from the fighting in the direction of Konoha. I figured there was no sense in going any other way since that's where you are going to end up anyway. I did think about taking you back underground, but I have decided that it is time to only move forward. There is no going back. But there are a few questions I need answered before I even contemplate taking you anywhere."

"I don't really care why you didn't take me back to my own personal underground torture chamber. Frankly, I hope it and everything in it gets destroyed. But why didn't you let me fight you along with everyone else?"

He walked towards her but stopped when she brandished her blades at him. He told her, "You still don't get it. I'm so happy to see you again that it's hard for me to even understand how I'm feeling. After getting you back, I could not allow you to stay there and possibly have you die all over again." He took another step towards her.

"Stay Back! I'm not going to let you do whatever you want with me anymore." Temari had tasted the open air again, and now that she was dangerously close to going back to the same situation as before, she embraced her slim chance of victory in a fight.

"What are you going to do? Run away from me? I would catch you in a heartbeat. And I refuse to fight you."

"I'll make you fight me." His clone laughed and Temari took a step towards him enraged at his dismissal. She meant her words and she was ready to back them up.

"How could  _you_ make me fight you? I'm not even the real me." Madara's clone asked.

Temari had no real idea how she could make him fight her. She didn't even think it was a good idea. She knew she would lose in an honest fight with Madara, but there was something in her that would not allow her to back down. She was actually beginning to look forward to it.

"I've let you push me around for too long. I won't allow you to touch me anymore. I swear the next time you come near me that if you're not ready to fight I'll cut off your hand."

"Oh, will you? I think I might like to see you try that."

Temari snarled. She was tired of him not taking her seriously. He had already humiliated her in front of the shinobi world by knocking her out so quickly, he had continuously humiliated her in private, and she didn't think she could take one more of his belittling remarks. Temari didn't even want to think about the disturbing things he could be saying to her brothers right now to try to make them upset.

Madara hadn't planned on fighting her, but he began to remember why he took her in the first place. He almost liked her like this. As long as he controlled himself he didn't see any real harm in letting her have her fight. It would make her inevitable defeat all the more crushing for her.

"Fine, rather you choose to believe me or not, I really do care about you. If you wait until I've finished fighting the Alliance, I'll agree to fight you. I will even let you go if you can defeat me. But if I win, and I will win, you will have to do something for me."

Temari didn't like his games. They always involved very unpleasant things. "Like what?"

"I offered something to you. I think that you should offer something to me."

"No. Whatever I say won't be good enough for you, and I'm not going to ' _offer'_ you anything more than I've already given you." She lowered her voice, "We both know you would just take what you wanted anyway."

He gave her a sly smile, "I can't say that you're wrong. But since you think it doesn't matter, I'll give you a bit of advice. The real Madara is overjoyed that you're still alive, but once things calm down…Well, you might just want to offer him something then. For now, I'll leave it open ended."

Temari didn't want to think about what would happen to her if she lost. Madara was going to be livid and she didn't want to be around him like that. All she had was the hope that the alliance would win, and if they didn't that she would have a battered and tired Madara to fight .

A hope was better than nothing, so she agreed. She could think about the consequences later. "Fine, whatever you say. But if you're so sure you're going to win against the alliance I'm going to head back to help them."

"No you're not. There is a barrier erected around the shinobi forces that no one but I and Madara can cross."

"I don't care! I'm still going to go to where the real fight is. There may still be something I can do to help them." Temari turned away from the direction of Konoha and began walking towards the battlefield.

" _I_  care! I don't think you should see something like that. It would distress you too much, and I don't want this to hurt you any more than it has to." Temari stopped in her tracks. She turned to him with disbelief and shock written clearly across her face.

"You don't care if I get hurt or not! If you cared, you wouldn't do the things you do to me. You  _constantly_  hurt me. You  _enjoy_ hurting me, and I'm not staying here with you another moment." Madara's hands began to fly through seals and Temari began to warily back away. She pulled out the scroll that sealed her fan and prepared to take to the air.

"If I remember correctly, Temari, you liked the things I did to you. And don't think that I'm going to let your current behavior slide once everything has settled down again. You can fight the real me when I'm finished dealing with the tree. That should be in about an hour and a half. Until then you can just stay inside your own personal barrier."

Temari had her fan in hand when she was surrounded by a pink chakra that formed a large box around her. It was about the size of a small baseball diamond. Its power radiated from all sides including beneath her.

"DAMMIT, I hate you! You can't just do this to me." Temari could hear her emotions coming through her voice, but she was too upset to care.

The clone ignored her outburst and changed subjects. "There is something I'd like to clear up while I have you here. Just give them a few moments to show up." Ten minutes later Z and Zetsu appeared out of the ground. They looked over at Temari inside the barrier and their communal smile faltered.

"Z, how did Temari manage to escape?" asked Madara's clone.

"Well, she somehow fooled me into thinking that she was about to die. So I granted her last request to see her brother one more time."

"Whose idea was it to let Temari go?"

Zetsu spoke up, "It was Temari's idea. Z even contacted me to see if he should do it."

Madara beckoned the zetsus over to him. "Why didn't you ask  _me_  if you should do it?"

Z replied first, "You were busy, and knowing Temari was going to die would only make you upset at a very critical time." In the blink of an eye Madara reached his hands through their necks and tore out huge chunks of their throats. Temari gasped at the suddenness and brutality of it.

" **Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!** " Temari noted that he didn't even need hand signs. He incinerated Z before Zetsu had a chance to fall to the ground. He killed him because they let her go, and she was reminded once again of the kind of man she was forced to deal with.

Zetsu's open throat gargled as he struggled to breath. His blood looked like puss, and she was astounded that she felt pity for him. He played a large part in her kidnapping, but he did help her escape. And he was still a living being.

Bile burned her throat, but she swallowed it back down. She looked up to Madara. He had a deep scowl and one hand still held the vile remnants of Zetsu's throat. She suddenly felt more cautious of her actions, but her desperation to get away from him only heightened.

"All they wanted was to live in  _your_  land of dreams. You didn't have to kill them." She told him.

"Don't speak to me about things you know nothing of. I only killed one of them. The other will be able to regenerate what he lost. I punished them not only because they failed me, but because they lied to me. I don't give people –no,  _things_  like them more than one chance to get something wrong. You could have been killed if I had not spotted you when I did." Madara motioned for Zetsu to leave him.

Temari looked at the spot where Zetsu sunk into the earth that was still wet with Zetsu's blood. "Why did you do that in front of me?"

"Do not ask me questions you already know the answer to."

* * *

Temari had been inside the barrier for so long that she was actually becoming drowsy. The world around her was tinted a soft pink and her mind drifted to that saying about rose colored glasses. She couldn't move around like she wished, but she kept an eye on the moon. She figured that as long as the moon and the sky stayed normal there was still a chance for the right side to win.

She stood up to warm her muscles and fight off the haze drifting over her senses when it happened. The moon grew darker and a circular design appeared on it. "Madara, what's going on? Why is the moon changing?"

"I'm only letting you get away with calling me Madara because we haven't fought yet." Temari rolled her eyes and turned back towards the moon. "The tree is fully bloomed. By now most, if not all, of your friends are under its spell. He's probably already begun spreading the tree across the world."

"Then why am I not under its genjutsu? I can see the moon too."

"The barrier I created protects you against its effects."

"Wouldn't it make more sense to let me enter the genjutsu too and then just wake me up from it?"

"It's unnecessary because you're already living a dream. You're with me aren't you? And I'm all you'll ever need." The ground rumbled for a few minutes as the tree spread to every corner of the land.

It almost took more mental strength than she had to remain standing. Temari could barely believe that Madara had beaten everyone for a second time.  _This isn't how it's supposed to happen. We're supposed to win! How could all of those people fail again? This isn't real. How do I know I'm not in one of his genjutsu or something?_

She reached into her pouch and pulled out a kunai. "What exactly do you plan on doing with that?" Madara's voice reached a temerity she hadn't heard from him before. He almost sounded worried.

Temari looked up ready to taunt him. "I-" Her words were cut off by the silhouette of another Madara walking through the trees as the clone disappeared. She had to know for sure if they had really lost. She looked back down at the kunai in her hand. She readied to slice her hand but was stopped by a crushing grip on her wrist.

"I will not allow you to hurt yourself. This is no dream or genjutsu. Once my clone dispersed, I was made aware of everything that happened here. If you want to fight me under those conditions, that's fine. But  _I'm_  the only one allowed to mark your body. You don't have the right to do that."

"You bastard!" She grabbed another kunai with her free hand and stabbed through his hand down into her arm. He yanked out the kunai and pushed her away. "Don't touch me. I'm not going to ever let you touch me again, and I'm not going to let  _you_  dictate what I do to myself."

The barrier expanded to a large area and all of her senses went on high alert. She would have smiled at the familiar rush of adrenaline, but she couldn't muster it while staring at Madara. His presence was overwhelming and menacing. He was much less powerful than she had seen him earlier that evening, but he was still much more powerful than her.

He wasn't in his Six Path's mode, and he showed the physical signs that he had just been in a fight. His shirt was off and he was covered in scratches and abrasions. It even looked like the small face on his chest was slightly discolored.

Yet, Temari couldn't help to notice that he looked rather untouched to have just been in a fight with an entire army. His voice brought her eyes back to his face.

"You don't  _let_  me do anything. I have and will continue to touch and do whatever else I want to you whenever I feel like it. If I decide that I want to take you right now, I will have you. I was so glad to learn you were alive that I'm just now feeling how angry I am with you. You think it's fine to act like a child because I've treated you as one. I've doted on you, and I've been far too easy on you. This is all my fault, and I'm going to take responsibility for it. But this will not happen again."

A slow small smile came to her face. Maybe she could do this. Madara had to be tired after fighting for so long. Why else would he be so upset? He may have won, but that doesn't mean he didn't get hurt. If she could capitalize on that and his emotions, she might actually have a chance of winning. And if she won, the moon might even return to normal.

He was holding the large fan and scythe she saw him with a couple hours ago. The fan looked solid and she guessed it wasn't built to guide and work with the winds like hers. She quickly unfurled her fan. She didn't want to give him any more time to rest.

Temari worried that the limited amount of space might cut down the effects of her more powerful jutsus. She needed to be precise or he would be able to negate her best efforts.

She also wanted to hit him hard and early. She wouldn't benefit from a long fight and it would just give Madara more time to heal and get back to normal. " **Wind Release: Great Task of the Dragon.** " She swung her fan up and readied her next move.

"Temari, maybe I  _should_  have let you train underground because nothing is happening."

"Yes it is." She bit her thumb and swiped it across her fan, " **Summoning: Jika Direct Flight Headwinds!** " A brown weasel, smaller than Kamatari, came from her fan holding a double headed scythe and aimed itself at Madara just as a tornado descended from the sky.

He had no time to dodge her summon because of the previous tornado attack from above. "Task of the Dragon has a delayed response, but I'm sure you figured that out by now. Now Jika is going to finish this before you get-" A puff of smoke signaled that her summon disappeared. She stopped mid-sentence to jump farther away from him, before she could make another assessment.

The smoke cleared and Temari knew she was in trouble. He used his fan to block Jika and the wind inside the tornado seemed to affect nothing but his hair. No, she was wrong, his eyes had changed. They had gone from looking almost tired to almost crazed. They were hungry for something, and Temari had no plans to find out what he wanted.

" **Wind Release: Gofu Boheki Gale Raging Wall!** " Temari swung her fan with all her might and hoped that this new giant vortex combined with the dying tornado would be able to lift Madara high enough into the air for the full effect of the move. It was a gamble because of the barrier. She was banking on the barrier only working against her and not things like wind or Madara himself. If the vortex could get him into the clouds the rest of the attack would strike him with lightening from the atmosphere.

She snarled compulsively as it worked and he began to rise in the air. Her confidence was growing as he ascended. He reached the top of the barrier and kept going. But an alarm in the back of her mind went off and she always paid attention to her instincts. Something was wrong and she needed to figure out what it was immediately.

She looked up at the rising Madara and there was none of the usual panic and confusion as her enemy was blown helplessly towards the sky. Why was he so calm? In fact, his eyes never left her for an instant. Temari didn't know exactly what was wrong, but she started to go through what moves she could come up with for when he hit the ground. A normal person would have been knocked out after this move, but Madara was in no way normal.

He continued up and past her line of sight, and she waited for the double flash of lightning to appear in the clouds. They came and Madara should have been sent plummeting down to the ground. She strained her eyes for some clue from the pink sky above her and she finally saw a dark spot descending. But it shouldn't have been actually coming down  _on_  her. His trajectory was completely off.

She reached the other end of the barrier the moment he landed exactly where she was standing. He looked a little tousled, but that was it. That was one of her stronger moves and he had come out of it completely unscathed. She didn't see any scratches or burns on his face or chest.

Madara laughed loudly at her confused look. "Are you that surprised that I can withstand anything you blow my way? Although I will say that even though what you're doing is ultimately pointless, you really do look great doing it. I just wish you were wearing something a bit more appealing." He walked towards her and she did her best to keep her distance within the space. "Are there any more moves you want to try? I could watch you dance like this all night, but I prefer it when you-"

"Shut up!  **Summoning: Kiriri Mai Quick Beheading Dance!** " She wiped her blood across her fan once more and swung again. She hoped that Kamatari's path would be so wide and erratic that it would overwhelm him.

His eyes widened and Temari felt her hope rise. If this move could get a reaction out of him, then maybe it would do real damage.

Temari could see that Kamatari came out a bit confused because of the barrier surrounding them but he adapted quickly. There was nowhere for Madara to hide.

"Go, Kamatari!" Madara swung his fan like a bat aiming for Kamatari but Temari could see that he would miss. She would have smiled if Madara didn't look so composed and confident. There was no way this attack wouldn't land on him and cause some damage.

A deep wound appeared on his shoulder, but Temari was not satisfied. "You should be missing limbs. Why didn't it work on you?"

"That little weasel was a fast one. I let him damage me a little only because I didn't want to kill him. Do you know what they say about those who can wield the Kamaitachi?"

"I don't want to hear it, and I don't care if you just let me attack you. It's your mistake for underestimating me.  **Whirlwind!** " She swung her fan to create a medium sized hurricane over Madara and then ran towards him. She saw that he was confused by the weak attack and her heart went light with excitement.

She raced into the wind. " **Chaos Fan Dance!** " She kicked him in the stomach with everything she had to launch him in the air. Her kick along with the wind provided enough force to get him off the ground. She could normally send an opponent flying with one of her kicks but she was counting on Madara's toughness. She didn't want him to go higher than the barrier, and it seemed to work. He had left the ground but he hadn't reached the barrier.

She quickly swung her fan creating another small torrent, hoping to cause him more confusion and maybe even another wound. Without pausing she leapt in the air and managed to get behind him.  _Yes! I can do this!_  She would use her fan to slam him back down to the ground. She closed her fan and let out a yell as she gathered all of her strength once again.

Time slowed as Madara turned in the air to face her. "This is enough of that." He grabbed her fan and pulled her towards him as the both fell back down to ground. Temari struggled over her fan but Madara managed to overpower her.

They both landed hard but as the dust cleared Temari pulled out her two long blades and put some distance between them. "Give me back my fan."

"I'll give it back to you once you know how to use it properly."

"Give it back to me now, and I'll show you what else I can do with it." They glared at each other until Madara began to laugh. Temari was already upset she had her weapon taken from her in midair, but she couldn't stay quiet while he was laughing at her. "Don't mock me! I know perfectly well how to use it."

He tossed her fan outside of the barrier and continued to laugh. "You'll never be able to use that fan the way you should. Then again, I probably wouldn't like you so much if you did. I like training you as much as I like watching you. If you only wanted to dance for me, you'd lose some of your appeal." He once again armed himself with his fan and scythe.

Temari's anger and frustration grew to heights she didn't know existed when it dawned on her what he was trying to say to her. Her battle fan was meant to be used as a weapon, not as some accessory to an outfit or a prop in a dance number.

The thought of using  _her_  fan that way made her feel ashamed of the dances she performed for Madara. She knew she had no real choice in the matter, but it was harder to deny that she didn't sometimes value the reprieve they gave her from a strange reality.

Temari acknowledged that her feelings on it were complicated, but it didn't make her any less humiliated.

"I never would have thought that you would actually call some of your fighting moves a 'dance.' Yet you still find it so difficult to dance for me? It was the only thing I ever asked of you, and you despised it so much that you ran away from me. Then what do you do when you are finally in front of me again? You dance. I can't believe how good my intuition was about you." Madara's smirk was the definition of smug, and Temari's hurt quickly turned to anger.

"YOU ARE COMPLETELY DERANGED! You're not even making sense anymore. I'm not 'dancing' with you; I'm fighting you. And how could you even imagine that the only thing you ' _asked_  of me' was to dance? You  _'asked'_  me for everything, and you  _made_ me do everything. I was in hell, and I'm not going back!"

"Why can't you just accept that you're mine? You always were, and you always will be. I'll explain something to you. Your dancing is exceptional, and I understand that the effort and time you put into it is a gift that's only for me. Everything else is mine to take, and you have no right to complain. So yes, the only thing I have ever asked of you is to continue dancing well for me." He began to walk towards her, and she backed away to keep their distance. "Now I see that you have the same grace in battle that you have when you dance. It truly is a part of your being, and it makes me want you even more."

Temari was running out of space and had no other way to keep Madara at a distance. So she did the only other thing she could think of doing. She planted her feet and once more brought her two swords in front of her. "Are you going to fight me or what?"

He nodded, and Temari remembered to not look in his eyes. He may have told her he wasn't going to use genjutsu against her before, but this was a different situation. She didn't want to make such a silly mistake.

Temari had seen Madara fight off countless shinobi in close combat and had honestly never seen anyone with his skill before. She waited for him to make the first move. "Your brother, Gaara, is still alive. I'm not sure about the other one. I don't know what he looks like, and he may have died. I can find out once I get some rest." Temari's face faltered from the information, but her stance stayed strong.

"Why are you telling me this now?"

"Because I won't be able to tell you anything once you're unconscious." She was through playing his games. Temari yelled, and ran towards him head-on before quickly dropping and sliding roughly on the ground to kick his legs.  He easily stepped over her attack and avoided the two slashes of wind coming from her blades at the same time.

Temari rolled over onto one knee. She had to win. There was no way she would get another chance like this. She stood up to attack again when she felt something poking her back: the scythe. She hated her own weakness, but she wasn't going to be defeated.

"I know you won't kill me, so don't threaten me."

"Oh, I won't will I? Then what will I do?"

Temari turned quickly and knocked his scythe away with her blade and delivered a shallow slash across his chest at the same time. "You're going to remove the Tsukuyomi and then go die somewhere."

"I don't think you should say such mean things to me. I might start to think that you don't really like me." Temari wanted to wipe the crazy smile right off his face. She reversed her grip around one of her blades. But instead of going towards him she moved away while sending wind attacks at him.

"I can't send these without a sword like Baki-sensei, but they are still unstoppable." It caught him a bit off guard, but he was still able to dodge them easily.

"They may be unstoppable, but it doesn't matter if they can't hit me. You're going to have to do something else if you want to win."

Temari let out a frustrated yell as she rushed forward. She had fought people stronger than her before and won. Winning a fight is not all about strength; she still had hope. She was almost on him, and she turned to bring both blades down. The first she aimed at his weapon, and as she expected he didn't move to dodge her.

"Don't be too hard on yourself. I did just beat practically every shinobi in the world single handedly. What do you really think you can do?" She grunted and brought the second down at his neck with all her strength. He moved to the side, but she twisted her blade around the chain connecting his fan and scythe. He let go of the weapon to avoid the strike on his neck and backed away from her.

Temari kept the chain wrapped around her sword. She couldn't think of a way to keep it from him but she couldn't keep it where it was either. "I won't take it back from you. You can toss it if you like. You earned it." Temari considered what he said and slid the weapon off her blade. "Good, I'm glad to see that you still trust me. I on the other hand…Well, you're going to have to earn my trust back.  **Fire Release: Dragon Flame Release Song Technique!** " He jumped back and threw five dragon shaped fireballs her way.

She dodged all five of the balls with ease, but she was more concerned about Madara's movements. He flew through hand seals and Temari readied herself for something big. " **Fire Release: Fireball Justsu!** " Her eyes widened as a humongous ball of fire came for her. Without her fan there was no way she could defend against it, and there were no trees inside the barrier. She leapt away as quickly as she could but still felt her blades grow warm from the fire.

He's finally on the offensive. He can't see me through these flames. I just need to look for an opening I can take advantage of. She ran around the edge of the border trying to surprise him on the other side of the grand fireball but stopped when she could sense him near her. He felt too close and she hurriedly turned around. She didn't see him anywhere amongst the flames and an unknown panic grew in her. She never got this way in a fight. She always kept her wits about her even when things seemed hopeless. So why was this panic bubbling up inside of her now? The only difference she could think of was Madara. Was Madara really having this much of an effect on her?

Madara was able to see through the flames and pounced on the hesitancy that he easily read on her face and in her body. He was ready to end this.

She was blindsided by a blow to the side of her head. She turned and saw he came from outside the barrier. She could have slapped herself for forgetting that she was the only person the barrier affected. This wasn't like her to forget something so important. She brought up an arm ready to slice the next body part coming her way but he grabbed her wrist and elbow and snapped the two large bones in her forearm.

She cried out in pain and swung her other arm towards his stomach. He moved behind her and brought one arm around her neck while the other grabbed the wrist that went towards him and pulled her arm across her stomach.

"Let go of me!" He crushed her wrist and forced her to drop her final weapon. She stomped down on his instep but all it did was make him laugh. He tightened the hold around her neck and brought his mouth to her ear.

"I've caught you again little girl, and you're never going to leave me again." Temari struggled against him with everything she had but she could feel the chokehold working.

Her vision began to blur, and she wasn't sure if it was from the lack of oxygen or from the tears she could feel beginning to fall. Madara could feel the anguish in her body as she finally went limp. He gently laid her down on the ground and took a moment to look at her.

She was beautiful. Her skin was still glowing from exertion, but he couldn't stand seeing her in that traitorous uniform for one more second. He undressed her down to her bindings and panties and he felt something in him relax.

She was still his. She was still as he remembered her. He had won. He had finally won. He had the world, and he had someone to share his victory with. He tied her headband back on her. He wanted her to wake up with it on.

He frowned a bit when he thought of her injured arms. He didn't know any healing jutsus. He had no talent for healing others, only himself. That had never bothered him until now.

He summoned Zetsu and was glad to see that Zetsu left a scar on his throat. "Heal her and then bring some clothes for me, restraints, and an empty duffel bag. I'm going to go straight to Konoha once I'm done here. I need you to go ahead of us and get a temporary place ready for her." Zetsu kneeled down and began healing her broken limbs.

"It may be a while before your home is ready, Uchiha-sama. For obvious reasons we are using civilian contractors, but they take a lot longer than shinobi contractors. It will probably be at least a month before your new home is even livable and a year before it's actually finished." Zetsu's voice sounded strained and hoarse from his previous injuries.

"That's fine. I need to travel around for a while to set up my empire anyway. I'll make sure she'll be taken care of. Just hurry up and heal her so I can take her chakra." Zetsu's healing chakra faltered a bit at Madara's last statement.

"You're going to seal her chakra?"

"No, it's different from a seal. A seal can be removed by many. I am going to make it so her body won't be able to produce her normal amount of chakra."

"But won't that kill her? Shinobi can't live without producing chakra."

"It would kill her if I took away all of it, but I am going to leave enough for her to live comfortably. The only thing dangerous about it would be the actual procedure of undoing the process, unless it is done by me. Have you finished healing her yet? It's a rather involved process, and I need to do it before she wakes up." Zetsu stood up signifying he was finished with his work.

Madara knelt next to her and began to mark her body with his chakra. Zetsu stood behind him trying to see exactly what Madara was going to do when Madara asked, "Don't you have some things to attend to? And don't forget her collar."

Zetsu got the hint and left unable to observe Madara's work.

* * *

Madara glanced at the moon and figured that it was about one o'clock in the morning. He stood and stretched after the intricate procedure. It was better than successful.  _No one_ but himself would be able to reverse his work on her.

He gazed down at Temari and couldn't stop the smile that came to his face. She looked so serene and childlike. He began to wonder what she really looked like standing next to him. Sure he looked  _decades_  younger than what he was, but there was still no way he could ever look as innocent as she does. Even when she was upset and fighting him she looked much cuter than she did menacing, to him at least. He decided to get portraits of them done soon, and to also get some of the photographs that were so popular.

He knelt next to her again and kissed her hairline. She reminded him of a flower ready to bloom just for him. He laid on his back in the grass and pulled her near him. Her skin felt cold against his and he held her tighter. He hadn't yet put on the shirt Zetsu brought him, and he began to contemplate dressing himself. But he decided he preferred his current position to moving around. She would warm up next to him soon enough.

He looked at her form next to his then up at the moon, his moon, and couldn't imagine himself happier. How long had it been since he felt so light? He could feel his long-held anger and resentment lifting off of him.

Temari began to stir, and she wasn't the only one beginning to wake up. He looked down at her, still half-sleep in his arms, and he realized he  _could_  be happier. What better way to further proclaim his victory than to take Temari right then and create a child tonight?

He was suddenly thankful that she hadn't become pregnant yet because a child conceived on this night would be incredibly special for both of them.

He sat up and rolled her onto his lap. "Temari, Temari, wake up. It is time you get up."

She heard her name and instantly recognized the voice. She had lost, and he had won. Everyone had lost. She felt the night's chill all over her body and was suddenly aware of his hands holding her on places that should have been covered by her clothing.

She wasn't sore between her legs, so she assumed that Madara hadn't done anything to her yet. She was always sore after he got what he wanted from her, and the one time she wasn't sore it was to humiliate her. _At least he doesn't rape me while I'm sleeping. There's that, I guess._

"I know you are awake, Temari. Look at me. Open your eyes, and look at me." Temari didn't want to see him. She didn't want to come back to her horrible reality. She'd rather have the black of the sleep she was just in, but she knew she had no choice. Tears started to fall down her face, and she scrunched her eyes even tighter to try to stop the flow.

But there was nothing she could do. The tears increased followed by cries she couldn't hold in. She was sobbing uncontrollably in his arms. He held her tighter and brought her to his chest and her crying got louder.

His hold felt suffocating. She tried to push away from him, but she was too weak to make him move. His muscles felt like smooth stone against her. He didn't even have to use them in order to keep her in place.

Temari couldn't help but to think  _what's the point? It doesn't matter what I do. It doesn't matter what anyone does? He's always going to win. I wish that I had just died. At least then I wouldn't have to live as his._

"Temari, calm down, and look at me." She had only been awake a few moments, and she could already feel him getting hard. She knew what was coming next, and it made her panic even more. "Dammit Temari, if you do not start getting a hold of yourself in the next fifteen seconds you will regret it. There is nothing to cry about. However, if you really want to cry, I can give you something to cry over. "

She slowly opened her eyes and reigned in her emotions. After a few deep breaths her sobbing subsided, and she was just stifling a soft cry.

"That is much better." He gently wiped away her tears as best he could and gave her a small smile. "Even though you have been a  _very_ bad girl, I want you to try to feel as good as I do tonight. There is no more living in the past for me. It is time for both of us to live in the moment and look towards the future. Tonight is a victory for both of us, so we should celebrate."

He kissed her forehead softly and moved slowly down her nose to her lips. He could feel her body shudder from an occasional sob, but he knew it was from excitement too. He knew he was what she needed. He was what was missing in her life. He could feel it every time his lips touched her.

He moved her around so that she straddled his lap, and he pulled her close. "Have you finally realized that there is no going back to your old life? Trust me, I understand the need to grieve for your past way of life, but what lies ahead will be so much better as long as you are with me." He caressed her face while guiding her eyes to his. "I promise that once we finally settle into a routine and you begin having my children that you will realize that you were meant for me all along."

One hand went behind her head and prevented her from moving while his other hand reached into his own pants. He had been fighting his arousal from the moment he felt her skin on his and he finally unleashed himself from his pants. He maneuvered his pants all the way off and enjoyed the feel of the cool grass and Temari's skin on his legs.

He put her back in place and looked down between them. The sight of his length against her stomach was more than enticing. He yearned to be inside her, but he wanted something else tonight. He wanted Temari to want it tonight. No, he knew Temari wanted him. He just had to tell her it was okay to express herself.

He started to kiss and suck on her shoulder and worked his way up her collar bone and neck. A rush of joy flooded him as he remembered that only hours earlier he thought he would never be able to hold Temari like this again. He bit her hard to make sure it was real and to leave a mark on her. He loved the sound she made from the pain, and he made her make it again. She was salty from their fight and tasted of the earth that she was just lying on. But there was still that unmistakable taste of Temari. To him, she was like a strange yet appealing mix of a bold spice and flowers. He could imagine her doing a foreign dance in a whole field of lavender or marigolds. She would be barely covered but out in the open. She would only be for him.

The bite seemed to knock Temari back from the edge of her emotions, and she began to think again and stop crying. However, now she was also aware of everything. Every kiss, every touch felt more invasive than it ever did before. He repulsed her in a way that spread to every part of her being. She could feel the little bit of happiness and hope she had gained over the last couple of days fade away every second.

"Put me inside you, Temari." His hand moved behind her neck after undoing one of her bottom ponytails. His hand felt hot on her neck, yet it sent a chill straight through her. She knew what he wanted, but she just couldn't bring herself to move. Why did he want her participation now?

His grip tightened around the back of her neck causing a small gasp to escape her. His patience with her wouldn't last all night, and Temari didn't know what to do.

If he lost control, she was sure he would seriously hurt her. But right now, she almost wished she were as physically beaten as she felt. At least she would have a reason for the pain in her chest and the nausea in her stomach when he touched her.

His other hand reached around and caressed her bottom before lifting her slightly and simultaneously stroking her with his fingers. "Do it, Temari." He slid her white panties to the side.

She tried to shake her head but his hand prevented her from moving it. She didn't know why she was refusing him when she felt so powerless, but she did nonetheless. There always seemed to be something in her that would make her fight no matter the circumstance.

"Dammit Temari! Why can't you see how much-" He brought his hand from beneath her and ran his thumb along her throat. "I can make you complete, Temari. I'm what a girl like you needs, and I don't want anyone but you. I  _will_  make you give me what I want, and tonight I want to see your face in ecstasy framed by my moon."

Temari felt her neck slowly become encompassed by his hands as he spoke. He was an ounce of pressure away from truly choking her. She wanted to look away from him, but she couldn't take her eyes from his. They were intense, emotional, and dark. "Do not make me hurt you more than I have to. I want to make a child tonight, Temari."

He tightened his grasp just enough to restrict her airway. She couldn't breathe and she couldn't look away. Madara brought his face in close enough to brush his lips against hers. "This is going to happen, and your body is going to love it whether you want it to or not." He squeezed her throat forcing her mouth to open in a breathless rasp and kissed her. He released her throat but held her lips to his while she struggled to breathe again.

Madara needed to be in her. He moved back to let her regain her breath before slapping her. "Put me in you, Temari."

Throughout this Temari's hands were constantly between them trying to push him away. His slap hurt more than she thought it should have, but she thought no more of it. Her mind went through her options and there weren't many she could find.

Madara pulled her head back by her hair to its limit and slapped her two more times. They hurt even more because he didn't allow her to move with the hit. "Are you going to do it?" She tried to move her head but his hold didn't give. "Answer me." He hit her in the stomach but did not let her body recoil.

She grit her teeth in pain, "Yes. Yes, I'll do it." She knew Madara wouldn't stop until he got his way. Temari bitterly remembered how he never allowed her any real choice and he probably never would. He loosened the grip on her hair but didn't let it go completely.

He let her look down between them and could feel her hesitation. She reached down and cautiously took hold of him.

Temari had never touched a penis before. She had still rarely seen one. Sure she had mistakenly seen each of her brothers' in instances none of them ever acknowledged occurring. And though she was forced to see Madara's a couple of times she always tried to look away as quickly as possible. And she still wasn't really getting a good look here. Nonetheless she found her curiosity take over.

She was amazed at how velvety it felt. It felt too smooth and warm to belong to Madara. The rigidity and size was all his, but it was covered in a gentle softness. Temari thought of it as a representation of his body to the extreme: pain covered in hot muscle and skin.

She slowly ran her hand up to the tip where she noticed that there was already something coming out of it. She hated that he was so turned on by her. He could truly have anyone, yet she was the one cursed with his much too eager affection.

A low chuckle from him brought her out of her reverie and back to her embarrassing present. She quickly pulled her hand back.

"I knew you'd like this, Temari." Temari could feel her face turn a burning red and refused to look up at him. Then a wonderful idea came to her. She grabbed him again and created a gust of wind that should have been laced with her cutting chakra. She waited for the inevitable scream; instead, his laughter only grew. Temari wasn't sure if it was confusion over his laughter or what, but she became so lightheaded that she would have fallen over if Madara hadn't been holding her.

"You are being a bad girl again, and you were finally starting to act like you should. I admit I liked what you were doing so far, but we'll work on the finer points of how to please me later. I know we'll both enjoy it with your new abilities. Or I should say new  _lack_  of abilities." Madara laughed whole-heartedly. He couldn't have hoped for a better way for Temari to find out about her new state. He found her far too harmless and attractive to be upset about what she just tried to do.

"What did you do to me?'" Temari was beginning to get her bearings again, but it was slow in coming.

"Perhaps  _reduced_ abilities is more accurate? I might explain it to you later, but for now all you need to know is that you don't have enough chakra to produce anything more than a gentle, pleasing breeze." He kissed her softly, but she didn't respond. Temari was still reeling from her sudden weakness and what he had just said to her.

Madara was too aroused to have any patience. He needed her to kiss him back. He still didn't understand how she had the strength to resist him at this point. She had to know that he always got his way, yet she remained obstinate.

He felt a surge of anger towards her and Zetsu. He was already past this point. He had her kissing him, and now she was set back again. He would just have to make sure that the next time she learned her lesson for good.

He bit her lip and used the distraction to enter her mouth. It still astounded him how her body could always taste like the best thing in the world. The taste of her blood only made him kiss her deeper. Everything about her was intoxicating to him. He should have been beating her senseless for everything she had done tonight. She ran away from him, fought him, and now, practically naked and more vulnerable than even she could imagine, she still resisted him.

He wanted her more every time he had her, and he was having an extremely hard time not flipping her over on her back right then. However he couldn't forget what he really wanted tonight.

His fingers felt scalding on her skin as they traveled down her arms and then up her stomach and chest stopping at the top of her bindings. His touch was hard and ardent. A quick strong pull tore her bindings down the middle and exposed her breasts to the night.

A shiver ran through her at the sudden chill, and her face cringed as Madara tried to warm her with his mouth and hand. None of this was a first for Temari anymore, but she just couldn't tame her disgust.

She began trying to turn off her mind because thinking about her situation was just too depressing. Everything was lost, and she was finding that there was no way to avoid it. Her family, friends, and the rest of the shinobi world were inside the Infinite Tsukuyomi while she was actually living a real nightmare with Madara. She turned her head and tried to see the moon behind her. She couldn't help but to think that she would rather be in a land of infinite dreams than here in reality.

"Do you admire my moon so much that you cannot look at the man in front of you?" Temari almost sighed. She turned her attention back towards him and shook her head.

"No."

"'No' what?" Temari almost lost it again. She could feel her stomach clench at the reminder of how she was supposed to address him. She opened her mouth to speak, but she just couldn't get the words to come out. She knew he would be upset with her, but she couldn't get the words out. She waited for the impending anger, but all she got was a hoarse laugh.

"A few hours ago I did not think that I would ever get to be with you again. And it will probably be a while before I can be with you after tonight. So do me and yourself a favor, and just put me inside you. Now."

For the first time that night she figured the quicker she could get this done with the better. She held onto his shoulders as he continued to kiss her all over her body and used her knees to lift herself over him. She pushed her panties farther to the side and began to mentally prepare herself.

She brought him into alignment with her, and the only thing needed was the final step. Temari paused and took a few deep breaths. He always hurt going in, and she began to wonder if it was due to his size more than the initial thrust or perhaps it was a combination of both. She eased down on him giving herself plenty of time to adjust to him once he was in her. After a long moment she began to slowly move.

Madara found the urge to pound into her overwhelming. His need to move was almost painful, but he enjoyed it too. Her slow movements were giving him a pleasure he didn't expect.  He could feel Temari's muscles begin to quiver. It was slow and teasing, but Madara could tell Temari was beginning to like it. He would deal with it for a while if Temari was beginning to enjoy being with him. He looked forward to the torment her orgasm would cause her and to the feeling it would give him.

He continued to tease and caress her while one hand went down and began guiding her pace bit by bit. He felt her motions begin to change and he smiled broadly as she began to actually grind on him.

Temari's mind was going numb. She started off moving just enough to try to get him to cum in a way that wouldn't hurt her. However she began to feel good rather quickly. It felt like her groin had a mind of its own, and began trying new ways of moving.

Nevertheless, she still didn't want any of it. His kisses started to add to her growing feelings of ecstasy, but she still wanted him to stop. She was doing her best to not make any sounds, but a quiet no managed to escape.

She began to speed up, and his hands on her hips brought her down on him harder each time. It felt so good that she almost couldn't believe it. The pressure that usually felt worse than getting a tooth pulled felt amazing and filling in a good way.

She closed her eyes in an attempt to escape the reality of what was about to be her second orgasm. Nothing but darkness and sound greeted her, and she was fine with that. She could hear his satisfaction from getting exactly what he wanted, and she hated that she couldn't hold off her orgasm much longer. He must have known it was coming because she could hear him laugh and sigh.

She wanted to stop, but she couldn't. Her body never felt this way before. She had had one orgasm before, but the added sensation of being filled to the brim was something else. She knew she would have loved sex if she could have controlled the circumstances, but instead she began to feel tears run down her face.

"I love you, Temari. Look at me right now." She kept her eyes closed ashamed at what she had just done. Her body betrayed her again, and she had just given him the cherry on top of his victory sundae.

"Open your eyes, Temari." She looked at him and was almost struck dumb by his eyes. She hadn't seen anyone look at her with such deep emotion before. She hated that she inspired that look in him, and that he would probably be the only person to ever look at her that way.

His grip on her hips tightened. "Faster, Temari." Madara began to grunt, and she closed her eyes. An image of the battlefield came to her instead of blackness, and she quickly decided that she would rather face her real nightmare than what her imagination could create for her.

"Faster." His grip was bruising her now and she went faster to try to end everything. She felt degraded bouncing up and down on him because he told her to. She brought an arm up to stop her breasts from moving but a growl and firm squeeze made her uncover herself.

She began to desperately want him to end quickly because she was beginning to feel another orgasm building. She didn't want to cum a second time, not for him. He finally came and kissed her at the same time. They were both slightly sweaty and panting from their experience.

"That was exactly what I wanted, Temari, and I know it was good for you too." He kept himself inside her as he maneuvered them around so she was beneath him. He could see that her body was still sensitive and if he wanted to, he could push her over the edge again.

"I know you won't stop trying to escape even though I beat you, but our fight was your reward for actually managing to get away from me. I thought that you deserved to let out some of your pent up emotions. Frankly, I'm too tired to be truly upset, but there will be consequences for what you did. I've already deprived you of any unnecessary chakra." He moved a bit and was pleased to see her begin to squirm.

"It's actually a very dangerous procedure, and it was why I did it while you were unconscious. I've also prepared a way that will make it safe for me to take you back to Konoha." He pulled out of her before he went too far and couldn't stop himself. "I'm sure there are plenty of empty apartments I can store you in until I prepare our home."

He left Temari on the ground and grabbed the duffel bag Zetsu brought over earlier. Temari just didn't have the strength to stand yet, so she laid there trying to assess what he just said to her about her chakra.

She didn't think about it long as he unpacked restraints next to her. He quickly created a barrier around the bag and turned to her. "We're going straight to Konoha." He cuffed her wrists and ankles and tied her legs together right above the knee. He quickly got dressed and turned back towards her.

He finally took her shinobi headband off. "When I saw you in that uniform again it reminded me of the first time I saw you. I had no idea back then that you were a part of my destiny." He stuffed her headband in his pocket and exchanged it for her well known collar. "I didn't know you were there waiting for me to take you, but now I couldn't imagine my future without you."

He stuffed a sizeable wad of cloth in her mouth and then tightly strapped on a ball gag. He then attached her collar to the ties on her legs and her wrists to her ankles. She was stuck in a fetal position. He picked her up and put her in the duffel bag and closed her in darkness.

Temari wanted to tell him that the gag was almost too much for her, but of course only muffled noises came out. She wasn't even able to clean herself and she could feel his residue still in her and drying on her thigh. She felt like less than nothing. He used her and then put her away like a toy.

She felt him pick her up and could tell had begun to travel at a high speed.

It took about forty-five minutes to get to Konoha, and he filled the time by telling her telling her how he imagined their new life together. He talked about ideas for their new home and how he would have to continue construction on it immediately. How he imagined her filling his nights with joy after a long day and eventually how she would give him a family to carry on his true legacy.

His ramblings and the time spent travelling helped her calm down from being recaptured. She realized that she shouldn't have broken down earlier. She was stronger than that. There had to still be some way to end this and get her family and friends back.

There was no denying that he was incredibly powerful and had control over the world. But she could still deny him the two things he wanted most from her. She would never love him, and she would not get pregnant.


	14. Hiroko's Advice

Konoha- One week after the war.

Temari was too tired to try to move against her binds. She hadn't seen Madara for at least two days. She hadn't had anything to eat or drink, and she felt incredibly weak both physically and emotionally.

He had left her tied up and naked in the shower stall of a small apartment in Konoha. Her legs were tied together twice above and below her knees and at her ankles. Her wrists were tied to each ankle, and there was a tightly tied soft rope connecting her abdomen to her thighs. A rope around her neck connected to the rope closest to her knees, and she was gagged by a soft cloth around her mouth.

She wondered if he left town without telling anyone about her. The thought of dying from thirst and starvation in a shower stall made her incredibly depressed. If only she could cut these ropes, but her chakra felt so weak at the moment that she wasn't even sure if she could create a breeze without dying from chakra depletion.

She heard someone coming and turned as best she could to see Madara. She sighed through her gag and then cursed him as he turned the shower on and the cold water shocked her system. She was glad the water would begin to wash away the evidence of how long she had been there alone. He rocked her back and forth to be sure the water reached her everywhere before turning it off. Madara's anger over her previous actions was beginning to catch up to her.

"There's no reason to groom yourself properly until I'm ready for you to entertain me. Frankly, I'm annoyed with people at the moment, and I might really hurt you right now without meaning too. So until I have dealt with the most difficult problems you're going to stay here. I'm about to travel, and this is the best place for you right now anyway.

"I've hired a civilian woman to come in from now on. She'll live here and take care of you until I've finished setting things up. Her husband is working for me, and she knows where her loyalties now lie."

Temari knew that Madara could literally change the world in a night, so she wasn't surprised to hear that establishing his new authority would be quick work. And she definitely wasn't surprised that he had scared the crap out of everyone left alive.

He removed her hair ties and ran his hand through her wet hair. She shied away from him as much as her binds would allow. Madara  _not_  touching her was the only good thing she could find about her shower situation. And hopefully her life would get better in the time that Madara spent travelling.

"Temari, I need to know something." He untied the cleave gag and let it fall to the floor. "Did you have a good time when you were away from me?"

"The best."

"Did anyone touch you while you were away from me?" Temari thought about that question for a while. She was sorely tempted to say yes with the hope that he would lose interest in her. Maybe he would see her as tainted and put her in the same lot as everyone else. But she knew that wouldn't be the case. It was much more likely that he would find some cruel way to punish her and whoever he imagined had touched her.

She opted to tell the truth. She shook her head no and simultaneously tried to shake his hand out of her hair.

His fingers came down beneath her chin and made their way to her neck. It felt like he was trying to tickle her.

He left her again and this time turned out the light. She was glad for the darkness after two straight days of light, but it didn't last long. She thought about this woman coming to stay with her. She was thankful he was sending a civilian. If she untied her, Temari figured she'd be able to overpower her and escape even with practically no chakra.

She smiled to herself. There was a beginning of a plan taking form in her mind. Temari just had to be patient this time.

The lights came on about two hours later, and Temari had to squint to allow her eyes to adjust. She heard two people walking towards her and assumed that it was Madara and her new caretaker.

"Temari, this is Oshiro Hiroko. She will not hurt you, so do not hurt her. Her husband's contracting firm is building our new home. She knows what will happen to her, her husband, and her children if any of them were to disappoint me. She will take care of your basic needs." Madara untied the rope around Temari's neck. She stretched her neck as best she could. She also noticed that Madara was wearing his battle gear.

"Say something, Temari." Temari figured he wanted her to thank him.

"Thank-" Temari's eyes widened. She knew she was talking but nothing was coming out. She tried again and again, but no sound came out. Temari started to panic. She cried out, and that came out just fine. She tried to speak and again there was nothing. She glared at Madara. There was no doubt that this was his doing.

"Calm down. You can no longer speak words. We'll figure out when you'll speak again when I feel it's important. But I didn't take away your voice completely." He stooped down and looked in her eyes. "I love the little noises you make too much to rid my world of them." He leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "Especially when I'm inside you."

 _"Get away from me!"_  The forced silence was more than infuriating. It was frustrating and almost too much for her to handle. She couldn't even  _tell_  him to stop now. How did this man continue to find things to take from her?

He began to untie her, and Temari tried to move from his touch as much as she could. Her muscles were so sore from being in the same position that she found she couldn't do much of anything after he untied her. She stretched out her legs and arms as Madara stood. "Hiroko."

Hiroko jumped at her name. She had been consumed with the scene that just played out in front of her. She saw first-hand why her husband and his coworkers had been so worried about her. "Yes, Uchiha-sama."

"I will contact you when everything is ready. Do you have any questions for me?"

"No, Uchiha-sama."

"I'm going to remind you and inform Temari of the most important rules. Neither you nor Temari are permitted to leave this apartment. Your husband will come by every day to make sure you're ok and to bring you supplies. I have placed a seal around this apartment. If anyone not permitted enters or leaves, I guarantee you they will regret it. If you have a problem, let your husband know, and he knows how to get in touch with me. Hiroko, wait for me outside." Hiroko bowed to him before she left the bathroom. He turned to Temari and saw her struggling to stand. He walked over to help her.

" _I don't-"_ Temari opened her mouth but remembered that nothing would come out. She tried to push him away but her limbs felt stiff and heavy. She leaned against the shower wall and looked at Madara.

The war had done nothing to weaken or age him. It seemed to make him seem stronger. She could see that his power was more immense while he was resting than she had remembered. It was clear that he could do anything he wanted. Yet her recent freedom had somehow managed to implant a seed of hope in her. And even with her momentary lapses and breakdowns, closing her up in some apartment wasn't enough to take it away from her.

Madara could see the renewed spirit in Temari and wanted to kill that damn zetsu all over again. Everything was going so well before they screwed things up. She seemed a bit stronger than when she was last with him underground. Strength he didn't particularly mind, but there was also an air of defiance about her that needed to be checked.

He took a breath to calm himself. There was so much he wanted to do to her, but now was not the time. He knew he was too easy on her before, and he wouldn't make the same mistake again. Or at least he told himself that he would be hard on her this time. The thought of escaping should have never entered her mind, and it was partly his fault that she took the chance to get away from him. She needed to know her place was next to him and to never forget it.

"I can't tell you how disappointed I was when you tried to leave me. Did you really think that you could escape?"

Temari tried to answer him with her eyes and demeanor. She  _had_  managed to escape from him, and he would never take that away from her. He slapped her hard, but she felt the shower wall slam against the back of her head more than Madara's hand across her face.

"I can't believe you really tried to leave me. You can  _never_  leave me!" His voice filled the bathroom and reverberated inside her head. "No matter what you do, your path will always lead back to me. I really thought you had begun to understand this, but I see that I was too lenient with you." He grabbed her chin and forced her to face him. "I made too many excuses for you, and I gave you too much. From now on, you will have to earn  _everything_  from me. And I mean everything." He gave her one last hard push against the wall before leaving. She could feel a dull ache growing in the back of her head that increased with every clank of Madara's armor.

Hiroko came in soon after with towels, toiletries, and clothes Temari didn't recognize. She told her that dinner would be ready when she finished dressing. Temari didn't pay much attention to her, and Hiroko was thankful for it. Hiroko needed to reevaluate her own situation.

She noticed the fresh bruise on Temari's cheek and felt pity and guilt rise up in her. She could feel her cheeks turning red from shame. When Madara first approached her and her husband about this job they had definitely gotten the wrong idea about the entire situation.

From the way Madara had presented it to them, they had assumed this "princess" was just that: some stupid and foolish girl who didn't understand what she was doing by being with Uchiha Madara. They presumed that she was a girl who saw the tides of change coming and then jumped on the right bandwagon.

Hiroko had thought that she would be waiting on a spoiled brat of the worst kind. But now she realized that she couldn't have been more wrong. A wave of the horrible things she had assumed and said about that girl came back to her, and she made a note to herself to tell her husband the real situation.

But more importantly, why would Madara want to do this in the first place? It only made sense if Temari was here completely against her will. If people thought that, they would pity her instead of despise her. And eventually someone would help her escape. But if everyone hates her, she won't even be able to get someone to pass on a personal message for her let alone to help her escape.

Madara had told her to prepare soup beforehand and she put it on the stove to reheat. She had heard everything he said to Temari and Hiroko decided to do her best to make Temari's time with her as comfortable as possible. She had thought the man was terrifying from just dealing with him professionally. She couldn't imagine what that young girl had gone through or would go through in the future.

Her tears fell in empathy. Life often wasn't fair, but this was cruel. She quickly wiped her eyes and blew her nose when she heard Temari leave the bathroom. The clothes fit her body, but they didn't seem to fit her as a person. It was a short light pink swing dress. It looked sweet and girlish. She had followed Madara's instructions when buying them, and it confirmed her most recent thoughts: he wanted control over everything in this girl's life.

Temari stood in the kitchen doorway while Hiroko ladled soup into a couple of bowls. Now that Temari had a better look at the woman she felt slightly comforted by her presence yet also resentful. Hiroko was about three inches taller than Temari and slender. She was pale like Hinata, but her hair was jet black and in a low bun with two pieces framing her face. She wore a pair of gray slacks and an expensive looking shirt. Temari thought she looked sophisticated and it made her feel worse about herself.

In less than an hour this complete stranger knew about the most shameful parts of her life. She had seen her naked, starving, and weak. She turned away from her and went to sit at the small kitchen table. She needed to vent her frustrations and her mind struggled to find a way.

_Why didn't he pick someone like her? She looks like she would make a good match for Madara. She's from Konoha. She had already lived a good chunk of her life, and she looked refined. If you put the two of us next to each other and asked someone who should Madara choose, they would always pick her._

Temari guessed that Hiroko probably wasn't doing this because she wanted to, but she still felt some anger towards the woman. Hiroko placed the soup in front of her and Temari ate it all. The soup was delicious.  _This woman would even be able to cook for him like he wanted._

She was suddenly fighting down an urge to beat the woman to a bloody pulp. She looked over towards the window and stood up to see what she could see. She didn't know exactly what she was expecting, but it wasn't what she was confronted with.

"I know you can't speak to me, but I can have my husband bring some paper and pencil. That way we can communicate back and forth. For now I'll talk, and you just communicate the best you can with me. He-Uchiha-sama told me that he would be taking all of your things to your new home. But he did give me a chance to go buy some things for you after telling me a bit about your tastes. Although, now I'm not so sure if they're your tastes or his. Either way, we have to deal with what we have."

Temari was only half listening because she couldn't believe what she was looking at. The apartment she was in was at least five stories off the ground but everywhere she looked there were large vines and cocoons. The cocoons were white and grotesque. She tried to open the window to get to one but she was stopped by an invisible barrier. She heard Hiroko clear her throat.

"Excuse me, but Uchiha-sama told me that the windows are all sealed. You would need chakra to open them. I am just a civilian and yours is mostly gone. He told me that you would feel weak for a while, but that you would get used to the feeling eventually. Why don't we sit on the couch? There's something I'd like to say to you, and I'm not sure I'll be able to have the nerve to say it for much longer."

Temari wanted to tell her that whatever she had to say didn't matter, but she also yearned for the company. She looked through the window one last time and noticed a few civilians walking through the streets before turning towards the living room.

She dropped on the couch and then proceeded to stretch and massage her limbs. Hiroko stood in front of her and surprised Temari by bowing deeply and apologizing.

"I am sorry for the things I've thought and said about you. I hope that you will be able to forgive me and everyone else who will be like me one day." Temari had no idea what she was talking about but just nodded for her to continue.

Hiroko sat in a chair across from her before continuing, "Let me explain. My husband owns a contracting company, and we are building your new home. Uchiha-sama approached us with this job offer. It was really more of a demand but…Anyway, he told us that he needed me to serve and take care of someone special to him." Temari's attention noticeably increased at this.

"Yes, he said that he had a girl who was a shinobi but not from Konoha. He said that you were the most important person in his life and that your comfort was all that mattered to him. He went on to explain that you were worried about how you would be welcomed to Konoha. That you were worried that people would hate you because you were with Uchiha-sama and not in a cocoon like everyone else. You assumed everyone would treat you like a traitor."

Temari could feel her whole body getting hot with anger. "Because of this you wanted to stay somewhere in secret until your home was livable. And because of your status you would need someone to wait on you. That's where I would come in. I'm your attendant until you can move into your permanent home.

"I'm apologizing to you, because I believed every word he said. He told me the kind of clothes to get for you and it only seemed to confirm that you wanted to be a pampered princess. I didn't even consider that he could have been lying about you. I told everyone I could about you in order to thwart your hopes of not being hated." Hiroko had begun to cry but Temari didn't care. This stupid woman had played right into his plan.

"I'm so sorry! I see now what he was doing, and it's too late for me to take it all back. It was probably a test to see if the story would work, and it did. Who knows how many other people he told about you? And I'm sure they are all going to react as I did. I hated you and tried to get everyone I talked to to hate you too.

"I am truly sorry to say, that no one will easily help you. But because of this, I promise to help you in any way I can. It's the least I can do for playing a part in putting you in this situation."

Temari could barely believe what she just heard. Madara had this all planned. Was this why he took her voice away? So that no matter what she heard or what was said to her she couldn't defend herself?

"I'm sure you're a bright girl, but you must realize that you won't be able to trust anyone. I'm sorry to say that even if Madara is cruel to you in public most people may think that you deserve it. If I hadn't just saw and heard what I did, I probably would have thought the same.

"I'm guessing that you tried to leave him, and now he's cooking up some horrible punishment for you. I promise that I will help you get away in any way I can, but no one else will. They may hand you back over to him just to gain his favor thinking that you shouldn't have chosen him in the first place."

Temari couldn't stand to look at her anymore. She was so calm saying these things that effected Temari so deeply. She wanted to punch something so she did. She stood up and punched the window behind the couch. Her fist was stopped by a barrier and she couldn't even reach the window. She shook out her hand and examined the fresh scrapes across the knuckles.

Hiroko ran towards her grabbing her hand. "Please Temari, you can't hurt yourself. He told me I can't let you mar yourself, or he would do it twofold to me." Temari yanked her hand from the woman. She contemplated hurting herself just so someone else could experience some of her pain from Madara, but she quickly remembered that she was a much better person than that. Not to mention Hiroko was, at present, her only ally.

Hiroko saw Temari work through her thoughts and decided that she wouldn't be upset if Temari ignored her words. Temari turned from her and began down the hall. "Wait, there's only one bedroom and we have to share it. Pick whichever bed you want. Your clothes are in the closet closest to the door. I would say you could wear mine, but Uchiha-sama might visit at any time."

Temari headed to their room and was pleased to not see black sheets. Everything about the room seemed crisp and clean. She walked towards one of the beds and looked at the books sitting on it. She picked them up and felt angry tears welling in her eyes. They were the three books she "earned" from Madara. She threw across the room and stormed over to the closet.

There were no clothes she recognized. Everything was in pastels and light colors. There were pinks, teals, yellows, and purples, and there were no pants. She was relieved that everything was simple and not too elaborate. The style of the clothes was a bit too childish for her, but when she remembered what she  _could_  be wearing she was thankful for it.

She laid down with her arms and legs stretched out and fell asleep almost instantly.

* * *

Shikamaru didn't know why he kept taking on more responsibility when it was really the last thing he wanted in the world.

He was waiting at the gates of Konoha for Suna's ambassador. Of all the responsibilities he had taken on, he admitted that this one was the easiest albeit the most troublesome. Except for when she wanted to spar with him, she really only needed him around as a pure escort. Someone to show her around, to eat with, to chill with, and to make sure that no one hassled her as a foreigner.

He saw her blonde hair and fan before he could make out her face. She always felt like an old best friend coming to visit after five years of no communication: so much could be said, but it was all unnecessary. He greeted her and they proceeded to Tsunade's office. They encountered Kiba on their way and he made his usual innuendoes about them. They always seemed to encounter Kiba or Naruto when they were together, and Kiba and Naruto always seemed to make a comment about them.

Tsunade quickly went over Temari's agenda and as they were leaving her office she gave him some documents for his father.

"Do you want to go find your Dad before we go stock my apartment?" Temari asked.

"No, it's fine. Let's head to the market now. That way I can go find him while you put everything away."

They made it to the market quickly and Temari headed straight to her favorite fruit stand. Shikamaru started to follow behind her when he heard the voice that constantly haunts his dreams. "If you paid more attention to what I say then you would know which stalls I prefer. I told you that Mr. Fuki's supplier is going through a divorce and it's been showing in his work. But I don't want to completely abandon him, so I only want half of the butter from him. You won't really taste the difference in cooking. But I want the other more expensive kind for everything else."

"Yes, Honey."

"Don't 'yes, Honey' me. Do you understand what I'm saying? I finally get you to come shopping with me, and you screw it up. I don't know why everyone thinks you're a genius. The only genius in this family came from  _me_."

Shikamaru tried to hide amidst the crowd of shoppers but then he heard a pleasant, "Shikamaru, I haven't seen you this week." He turned and saw Kurenai holding her new baby followed by a happy Asuma-sensei.

"Hey Shikamaru, what are you doing here? Did your mom, Ino, or Chouji drag you here?" Shikamaru scratched the back of his head as he tried to figure out how to stay hidden from his mom when it became too late.

"Shikamaru, are you trying to hide from us? You see? Shikaku, this is what your son does when he sees you coming. He hides because he knows that you will try to rope him into doing your work for him."

"Actually, I have some documents for you, Dad." Shikamaru handed the files to his dad and they exchanged knowing looks about the chore of shopping.

"So son, what brings you here? Ino or Chouji?" The two couples looked to him for his answer when he heard his answer.

"Shikamaru, hold these bags while I go buy some meat. Oh." Temari noticed all the people looking at her. She was clearly out of the loop. "Hello, I'm Temari, the Suna ambassador." She looked around and recognized everyone there except the woman with Shikaku. She had met Shikaku before for business, but the others she recognized from just being in town.

"Hello, Temari." said Shikaku. "I didn't know you were going to be in town."

"Well, it was no surprise. Shikamaru knew for at least a month that I was coming in."

"Shikamaru." Shikamaru reluctantly turned towards his mom.

"Yes, Mom."

"Why don't you bring Temari over for dinner tonight?"

"I think-"

"It wasn't really a question, Shikamaru. Temari dear, I'd love to meet you in a better way this evening. Are you free?"

"Yes, I'd love to not have to worry about feeding myself. If it's all right with Shikamaru."

"Shikamaru's lazy butt never worries about feeding himself. He won't begrudge you one night of the same. I'll see you at 6."

A few more pleasantries were exchanged between the two couples and Temari before they both became absorbed in their previous discussions. Yoshino continued getting on Shikaku about his lazy ways, and Kurenai and Asuma talked pleasantly about their own plans.

Shikamaru observed both couples and leaned into Temari, "Marriage looks far too troublesome."

Temari looked at the two couples and nodded, "Yeah, but you don't have to worry about that."

"Why?"

"No one in their right mind would marry a loser like you anyway." Temari laughed, "Come on, let's finish shopping." She turned and motioned for him to follow her. He looked over to her. He didn't want to admit to himself that he was troubled that Temari thought he was a loser. He'd have to change her mind on that. He was not a loser.

* * *

Temari woke up the next morning feeling refreshed but weak. She got ready for the day and found Hiroko getting breakfast ready for them. Most of the day passed by in silence and boredom. Hiroko crocheted while Temari paced the apartment. The only diversion Madara left for her was those three books. She eventually gave in and picked them up off the floor to go through them.

She was just about to open one when she heard a knock at the door and then a click. Her first thought went to Madara. She held her breath until she realized that Madara would have never knocked before entering.

Footsteps and muffled voices made their way to the bedroom, and Temari peeked out of the door to see who it was. From their embrace it was clear it was Hiroko's husband. She considered turning back around to give them their privacy, but she just didn't care enough. She walked into the living room and could feel her husband's stare.

"Temari this is my husband Noboru. Noboru this is Temari. She can't speak so could you bring us a notebook and some pens along with the usual supplies?"

"I have to ask Uchiha-sama. I can't bring anything unapproved through the barrier. Why can't she speak? Is she dumb or something?" Temari could practically see the disdain pouring from him. She thought about getting up to leave but if Hiroko was right, she would have to get used to this kind of attitude.

"No, Madara did it. He sealed her voice or something like that."

"I guess that will teach her to keep her mouth shut. Did he finally get tired of his little sweetheart asking for things?" Temari clenched her fists and stood up. She took a threatening step towards him and he just looked at her with a knowing smirk. He knew she wouldn't really hurt him when he was their only food supply.

"Noboru, stop it right now! You don't know what you're saying. We were wrong about everything. Uchiha-sama lied to us."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that everything Uchiha-sama said was a lie. I saw and heard it myself. It was all just a tactic to isolate her from any outside help."

"So you're saying that she didn't  _choose_ to be with Uchiha-sama? That he's holding her here against her will or whatever?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. She's a victim in all of this. Uchiha-sama has no reason to tell us the truth." Noboru stood up and walked over to Hiroko. He placed his hands on her shoulders.

"You are a very sweet woman, but I don't think that Uchiha-sama would have to resort to all of this for some girl who didn't want to be here. He could easily find someone stupid and shallow enough to want to be with him whatever the cost, and I think he found just that. Maybe she's regretting it now that all of her friends are in cocoons and she sees exactly what it is she did. And why would he lie about her? Wouldn't he want everyone to adore his little princess? The only reason he woke up the people he did was so she could have her dream home.

"Even if I'm wrong and you're right, it's still important for you to be wary of her. She's a shinobi and a foreign one at that. She has no qualms about using you to her advantage. She'll use you and then leave you take Uchiha-sama's wrath. Then what will  _I_  do? What would our family do without you? Remember what's important. She can deal with her own problems."

Temari was actually shaking with anger. She couldn't face them anymore, so she went to her room. But before she made it to the room she heard their conversation continue. She stopped and watched them from the hallway.

"I will help her, Noboru, even if it means I am punished for it." They embraced each other and Temari couldn't bear to watch something so loving. She turned and headed back towards the bedroom but heard Noburu say one last thing.

"Someone willing to sell themselves to the last one standing will never be able to stand in the face of true love." So he had noticed her, and he called her a whore on top of it all.

"Seriously, stop it, Noboru."

"Stop what? You want me to stop this?" Temari slammed the bedroom door as light laughter reached her ears. She didn't want to hear them kiss and play around with each other.

Temari fell against the door and sank to the floor. A sinking depression was starting to take her over again. She wasn't even in Madara's presence and he was ruining her life more than she could've imagined. She began to think of the life Madara was planning for her, and she couldn't stop the tears from coming.

He was turning her into something she wasn't. People were going to hate her for something that wasn't even true. They would see any punishment from Madara as well deserved and probably help him enforce it.

Hiroko was right. No one would help her. She had to get out of here, but she needed her voice back. With all of the shinobi incapacitated there was no chance of her ever talking again without him giving it back to her.

But voice or no voice if the perfect chance came up she would still take it. She figured most civilians wouldn't recognize her yet. She had a better chance of getting out of Konoha and the Land of Fire sooner rather than later.

* * *

Temari had dozed off on the bed when the front door opening and closing woke her up. She instantly wondered why she didn't try the most obvious thing. She went straight to the front door, opened it and unsuccessfully tried to leave. She could actually see the barrier around the door. It was purple and acted like a glass door with no opening. Nothing she tried seemed to work on it. She even tried to throw one of the books outside of the apartment but it didn't work.

 _I guess this is how Madara controls what Noboru actually brings into the apartment._  She smelled something delicious from the kitchen and went to join Hiroko for dinner. She was almost glowing from her visit with her husband, and Temari couldn't stand to look at her. She was about to take her dinner to the living room when Hiroko stopped her.

"Temari, I apologize for the cruel things my husband said to and about you. He's stubborn and it's very hard to change his mind about anything. Please try not to hold it against him. He does the best he can."

Temari continued to gather her things to eat away from Hiroko but stayed when Hiroko practically begged her to.

"Noboru brought something that I hope will brighten your spirits. It's one of those new-fangled music players. He said that Madara said you would know what it was for. But music is always nice to lift the spirits." Hiroko looked up from her plate to see that this did not affect Temari like she predicted. She expected a small smile or something, not a look that made her want to hug the poor girl to death.

"Temari, I'm sorry. Clearly this is something meant to distress you, but I implore you to look on the bright side. Music can often make a bad day seem brighter. Try to make the best of it." Temari lost her appetite at the reminder of her dancing. It seemed like everything was going to be even worse than it was before she escaped. But Hiroko was right. It was better than nothing and at least now she had something to do other than reading those books.

She looked back down to her food and forced herself to take a bite. She felt it plop in her stomach and she pushed away the plate for the evening. She was going to go back to bed when Hiroko cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry to bother you again, but there's something I'd like to talk to you about that may be a bit uncomfortable. I understand if you don't want to hear what I'm about to say, but I think it's important you hear this from someone who knows about your relationship.

"I told you that when Madara first approached me and my husband about a special job he needed me for we were really worried at first. I mean, what were we to think? This incredibly powerful man- the most powerful man in the world- wants  _me_  for a ' _special job_.' We assumed the worst. I cried all day until we actually met with him that evening to discuss the details. When he told us about you, well other than being misled as I discussed before, I felt incredibly relieved. I almost laughed I was so happy he didn't want anything more from me. I could tell that Noboru felt the same way and later that night we agreed to pretend it never entered our minds.

"But I can't pretend while I'm living with you and know the truth. Am I right in assuming that he has- that you two have-" Temari looked away. She didn't want to hear anything Hiroko had to say. She pushed her chair away from the table and readied to leave.

"Please, hear me out. I think that I can help you somehow." Temari stopped, but she didn't push her chair back in. "I'm sorry about what you must have gone through. Was he your first experience?"

That was it. Temari was not having this one sided conversation with her. She abruptly stood up. She did not have to listen to whatever this woman was going to say.

"Wait, please!" Hiroko ran to catch her. She caught her hand and held on tightly. "Please listen to me. I understand how dangerous your situation is, and I only want to help you. It won't hurt you to just listen to me."

Temari looked down at her hand in Hiroko's. She was beginning to really dislike this woman, but she was right. There was no way to truly escape her and she was in no position to turn down any help. She followed her lead and sat down on the couch while Hiroko took the seat across from her.

"I'm going to guess that he was your first, and for that I'm truly sorry. I can't imagine how upsetting this all must be for you, but you have to realize something about him. Uchiha-sama is an  _incredibly_  powerful man. I'm no ninja, but to win against everyone in a war can only mean he's completely beyond everyone's ability." Temari couldn't help but roll her eyes. She was convinced that whatever she was about to hear would be completely useless. And so far she was right.

"A man that powerful is used to being in control of  _everything_. I mean look at how he treats you. But I don't care how powerful you are,  _all_ people are still human. We all have needs one way or another and that man has probably denied himself every pleasure in his pursuit of world domination. Now he's somehow experiencing everything he's missed out on through you.

"Ambitious men like him are often single-minded. He's finally won, but he can't stop controlling and winning. He's the master of his domain and everyone else's. And then along you come. I don't know how you two met, but I bet in some way you were challenging him." She saw Temari's expression change to one of veiled attention. She chuckled to herself. "I guess I'm right. So as I was saying, along you come and he begins to feel something stir in him he can't completely control. At first he wants to destroy it. He can't allow anything to affect him that way. But then he probably started to like the feelings you gave him. It was a new challenge that could give him a different elation. It's not the same as the battlefield or politics or whatever. It's unlike any feeling he's ever had, so he wants it on tap. If he can't control his feelings, he can at least control the source.

"Men like him don't know how to love well. He probably took your voice not because he doesn't want to hear it, but because he can't handle hearing it. You must have made him  _very_  angry because I think he's afraid he might lose control of himself with you.

"You actually have a lot of power over him and he negates that by trying to exert power of you. I really am sorry that he has been your only experience. He seems like an incredibly selfish person, and love shouldn't be that way. He thinks that everything, including you, should revolve around him.

"And it's another reason why no one will help you. Even those who don't grow to despise you will be glad he only has eyes for you. No one would want to be on the receiving end of…this. And as far as us civilians go, it's even better that it's a foreign shinobi.

"He's a mean, sadistic man and I just- I hope you can learn to live with him. Otherwise…well…just manage to appease him until you can escape. It's not worth it to make him angry. I'm begging you to just learn to please him. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Temari couldn't stop her tears from falling and she couldn't stand to look at Hiroko. What she said about Madara had made sense and maybe she had needed an outsider's perspective to understand what was right in front of her. Even Madara's crazy behavior had a weird logic behind it, and this was it. She heard Hiroko's question but wasn't sure if she had an answer for her.

"Do you understand, Temari?" Hiroko stood and reached for Temari's shoulder. She saw the tears streaking Temari's face and forced herself to continue. "You will find few friends here in Konoha, because if he's concerned with you, he's not concerned with us." Hiroko began to cry as well, because she knew she was a bad person. She was making Temari cry and she was going back on what she said before. She turned to get some tissues for her face, and spoke between her tears.

"You are alone here, more alone than you could ever imagine you could be. I'm sorry, but my husband is right. I have much more at stake than just my life if I decide to help you. And if I do, it would be obvious to Uchiha-sama who did help you.

"I can't take that chance. I have children to think about. I'd like to still have more. I can't kill any of them for you. They deserve a chance in this world even if you're the price." She blew her nose while speaking. "You know, the more I think about it the more I realize that you were sent from heaven. You're saving countless people from despair. One good night with you could mean someone doesn't get killed the next day."

Temari couldn't believe this woman. Hiroko was choosing to knowingly help Madara ruin her life and she had the nerve to tell Temari that she should just  _"learn to please him."_  Temari stood up unable to listen to this woman anymore.

She began to walk towards the bedroom but Hiroko thought that she was walking towards her. "I know you're upset with me but if Madara wants to lay you on your back then so be it. Who am I to get in the way of what he wants?" Temari stopped in her tracks. She couldn't understand how this lady could be so crass and look so sophisticated at the same time. She thought about slapping her but thought better of it. Temari understood that Hiroko was just another victim of Madara. Violence from her wouldn't change anything about her situation.

But she still slapped her. She hit her hard enough to leave a mark, and it felt good. Hiroko looked shocked, but Temari wasn't ready to entertain her reaction. She continued past Hiroko and went to their room. She pushed Hiroko's bed against the door as a way to ensure her solitude. She laid down and stared at the ceiling trying not to think about anything. She cleared her mind and only thought about her breathing. Eventually her tears stopped and she couldn't hear Hiroko moving around the apartment. But her chest grew heavy with each new breath.

She felt like she was about to die and she wanted nothing more than to welcome it.

Hiroko didn't say much to Temari for the next week after that day, but at the beginning of the second week things changed. Hiroko took to sleeping on the couch and Temari spent all of her time in the bedroom.

Temari was returning her dirty dishes to the sink when Hiroko spoke to her. "Temari, I never told you, but Madara said you couldn't have a notebook to communicate with. It probably doesn't matter since you wouldn't talk to me anyway. But he also passed along a message for you. He wants you to know that you need at least five new dances by the time you leave here."

Temari nodded acknowledgement of hearing her and turned back down the hallway. "Wait," Temari stopped and turned back towards her. "Please come sit down with me. I'd like to fill you in on what's going on outside." Temari nodded again and sat down on the couch. She wanted nothing to do with Hiroko but news was news. If she didn't get any information now, she didn't know when she might have the chance again.

"These are the things I've learned from my husband. Uchiha-sama won't let him bring in any newspapers, but it might be for the best. Apparently news about you has spread and there's already a lot of speculation about you. I'm sure it's all wrong but it wouldn't help any to read about it." Temari began to get up. She didn't want to hear this if it was nothing new.

"Wait, I'm sorry, I'll move on." Temari sat back down and motioned for Hiroko to continue. "Uchiha-sama has already begun to set up his new government. Apparently he has killed all of the kage except one or two. He's released all of the civilians worldwide and they mostly accept him as their emperor. He's slowly releasing the shinobi. He's appointed shogun who will mostly act as kage. They all answer to him. He's also appointed new Daimyo who will answer to him and the shogun. Noboru mentioned that he's saving Konoha for last but that the other lands should all be subdued soon. It must be easy with the god tree as a tool.

"It probably won't take him too long to finish setting up his new government. The God Tree just gives him too much power. They say that he can manipulate people once their inside of it. It's how he can tell who will be loyal to him and who will be problematic. It's probably why he killed almost all of the kage." Temari started at first but then knew that Gaara wasn't dead. Madara wouldn't have killed him without taunting her with it. He told her that Gaara was still alive when they last fought. At least that's what she told herself so she wouldn't worry.

Hiroko saw something flash through Temari's eyes and figured it was concern over her own kage. "I'm sorry. I know this is distressing, but I thought that you would want to know. I'm ready to leave this situation of ours; so personally, I can't wait for him to take over so I can get back to my family."

Temari stared at her and wondered what her children looked like. Temari often had fantasies that Madara's attentions would shift to Hiroko. She seemed like the type of woman who would fit with Madara. Hiroko was beautiful and dark with a hint of evil. She was exactly what Temari would have pictured as Madara's love interest. At least she wouldn't have a problem "pleasing" Madara for the greater good. The thought still made Temari shudder.

She knew she was getting too used to not having Madara around and it would only make the moment she moved back in with him that much worse. It was going on three weeks without Madara and Temari was actually starting to feel good about her life again.

She had gotten used to having her chakra sealed and was hoping that the traveling that Madara was apparently doing would open his eyes to the many women throughout the world. She was fundamentally against the idea of multiple girlfriends or wives but she would gladly make the exception for Madara.

It was actually something else she often fantasized about. Of course, it came after the one where she killed him and where he exchanged her for Hiroko but it was the most realistic fantasy she had. He would come back to her with at least three other women who would take up all of his time. The idea of being with her would be so boring and unappealing compared to them that he couldn't even bear her presence. He would send her right back to Suna to live out her boring days with Gaara and Kankurou. The only thing that could make that fantasy better was when Hiroko was included in it and then he choked on a chicken wing Hiroko prepared for him.

Two days later she felt the mood change in their small apartment and Temari became incredibly anxious. Then one evening it came. "Temari, my husband told me he has completed the house to a livable point. You could be moved at any time to your new home. So I'm going to tell you one thing before I am no longer able to.

"Madara is only a man. No matter how powerful, he is still a man. And all men, all people, have a secret desire. I think his is to be loved. He's not stupid, but I believe something honest and genuine is the only thing that could weaken his defenses."

Temari couldn't roll her eyes enough at this. Of course Madara would want her to love him, but she would not sink so low as to pretend to care for him. "I'm serious, Temari. You have to use what he wants from you against him." Temari slammed the bathroom door in her face and took a long relaxing bath.

The next day there was a new voice in the apartment. It was feminine and familiar. Temari strained to hear it through the closed bedroom door but she didn't have to strain for long. There was a knock and the lady asked, "Are you decent, Temari? I'd like to come in."

Temari put on a robe, opened the door and almost fell over herself when Tenten's face greeted her.  _"Tenten?"_ Temari was so surprised that she forgot she couldn't speak. She opened the door wider so Tenten could come into the bedroom.

"My mistake, I almost forgot you can't talk. I can tell by your face though that you're a bit confused. I'll explain while you get dressed." Tenten held up a bag and handed it to Temari.

Temari was so excited to see a familiar face that all logic seemed to go out the window. Until she opened the duffel bag and saw an expensive silk kimono. She looked up towards Tenten and held the kimono up to her demanding an explanation as best she could.

"I know this may seem shocking to you, Temari, but a lot has changed since the war. Uchiha-sama is in charge of everything now. And I'm not sure how to even say this, but I-I've agreed to help him. I already know you're angry with me and you want to know why I would do this. Well it's simple. He can give me back Neji and Gai-sensei.

"I experienced it through the tree. You wouldn't understand how real it felt unless you experienced it yourself, and you probably never will. I am sorry about your situation but he promised me that he can bring back both Neji and Gai-sensei the way he brought himself back. All I have to do is serve him well. And I plan on doing whatever I have to in order to get them back."

Temari wanted to tell her that Madara would never bring them back and that neither of them would want to come back, especially this way.

"I'm going to help you get dressed and then we're moving into the new palace. Come on, you'll like your new home. It's not completed, but I don't think you'll mind so much. Uchiha-sama has also set up a surprise for you and I know you'll love it. So let's hurry up."

Temari felt like the butt of a very bad joke. Was Tenten seriously a traitor? She was quickly dressed in the fancy kimono. It was dark navy with a lavender pattern that faded up from the bottom. It wasn't like the kimonos Madara had her dance in. This one was slim and constricting with extremely long sleeves. Tenten was surprisingly gentle while artfully sticking kanzashi into her hair but Temari would've preferred a rougher hand. Then Tenten put some light makeup on her, and Temari desperately wanted to wipe it off her face.

Madara never let her wear shoes in their cave and even in this apartment she only had socks. Only Hiroko had house shoes. So she wasn't surprised to see that Madara had given her a pair of very impractical sandals. He was a man of extremes.

They were plain thongs for the most part just extremely high. Tenten helped Temari to stand in them and then to walk. The sandals along with the kimono forced Temari to take excruciatingly small steps, and if felt like it took her ten minutes just to reach the door. Temari wondered if Hiroko was still around but she didn't see or hear her in the apartment. She looked down the long hallway to the stairs and sighed at the thought of how long it would take her to reach her destination.

As if reading her mind, Tenten asked, "Would you mind if I carried you? There's a carriage waiting for us downstairs, but I'm worried it might be night before you get there." Temari hated how so far everyone made light of her situation. This may be just a joke to them but she was the one who would have to be alone with Madara at the end of the day.

She nodded and Tenten picked her up and quickly had her in the carriage. It was incredibly ostentatious and Temari was glad that no one could see she was the person inside it. Tenten sat across from her and told the driver to leave.

The palace couldn't be called anything but a palace. Temari was sure that if the village hadn't already been destroyed that a good chunk of it would have had to have been demolished in order to accommodate it.

"We're in the old Uchiha district. It was destroyed during the Pein attack and nobody was going to fix this part up anyway. Uchiha-sama really turned an eyesore into a treasure." Temari found that she could still suck her teeth and did so very loudly. Other than Tenten being the Madara fan club president, she hoped she didn't come across too many other surprises.

The carriage rolled right up to the front of the palace and Temari felt intimidated by the size of it all. The stairs that led up to the actual building were the definition of grand. She began to go up them with Tenten's help. "Isn't it great? Can you imagine what it'll look like once it's all done?"

Temari guessed that "done" meant lined with some kind of obnoxious statues or something because it looked done enough to her.

They finally reached the top and the palace did not disappoint after all those stairs. Temari looked up at her new home and wanted to throw up. This was no cave condo. This was large and intense. It sprawled before her and she felt like she was entering a gaudy trap. It was all black, red, white, marble, and gold with Uchiha flags everywhere.

She paused at the entrance knowing that she would probably never leave this place again. "Come on Temari, I know you'll like the surprise waiting for you inside." Temari let Tenten lead her through the entrance and what could only be called a throne room. Then they went through a myriad of rooms a hallways designed to confuse.

"You will be staying in the section not open to the public. Once we get there you won't be allowed to leave it unescorted and only those with permission will be allowed to enter it. I'm one of those people so don't worry. I'll also probably be the one escorting you most places too. There's also a section in the private section that only you and Madara are allowed in. I guess it's only right that some things stay private."

Temari felt the urge to vomit again and almost toppled over on her sandals. How could she be so flippant about these things? They reached a set of large marble doors that looked immovable. Tenten channeled chakra into her hand and pressed it against the door. Temari noticed that it required much more chakra than Madara had left in her to open the doors.

There was a loud boom as the doors closed behind her and she almost jumped at the sound. Tenten grabbed her hand and motioned for her to take her shoes off as she did the same. Then she continued to lead her through the hallway. "Those doors only respond to specific chakra signatures. So even if you do regain your chakra it still won't open those doors."

They reached another set of large doors but these were wooden and actually looked like they would behave like normal doors. "We're here. Let me make sure that you look presentable." Temari slapped Tenten's hand away from her hair. "You look fine anyway. Just stay here. I'm going to go in first and you come in once the doors open for you." Tenten slid into the room and a moment later the doors opened all the way signaling Temari to enter.

Temari thought about just not going in there but she knew there was no real alternative. She took a deep breath and walked in front of the open doors. The first thing she noticed was Madara. She would have had to try to not notice him. He was directly in front of her. He was in his red battle gear like the first time she saw him. She expected him to be in something more regal but as she got closer she realized that he felt much more comfortable intimidating people than impressing them.

The room was large and bright with natural light. It was mostly empty except for a few comfortable looking places to sit. Halfway towards him Temari stopped. She may have had no choice but she wasn't going to walk to him completely on her own.

She heard a light a cough and looked over to her side to see Tenten motioning her to continue walking. She pretended to ignore her but Madara spoke up. "Tenten, please go retrieve our other guests."

She bowed and left out a smaller side door. Temari was aware that it was just the two of them but he kept his distance from her. She began to hope that her time away from him had cooled his affections and that he had just now realized that he would much rather prefer Tenten or Hiroko.

His stare bore through her and made her fidget, but he still didn't say anything to her or make a move. She heard footsteps come from behind her and turned to see who else was joining them. Red hair!  _"Gaara! Kankurou!"_ She mouthed the words not caring that no one could hear her. She ran to them crying tripping over her own kimono. She was so happy to know that they had both survived the war that she didn't want to let them go.

Kankurou spoke first, "Tenten told us that you can't speak, but I'm glad to see that otherwise you're fine." Temari nodded. She grabbed Gaara's shoulders with both hands before hugging him again. "I'm going to be staying here in the palace along with Tenten."

Temari looked over to Kankurou warily.  _Was he brainwashed like Tenten?_  "I can already see the questions zipping through your mind. I hope that we can talk later, but-" He looked over to Madara before continuing, "but I'm probably not going anywhere any time soon."

"He has made me the shogun of Suna instead of the Kazekage." Temari looked at Gaara clearly confused by his words. Was he doing this willingly? Did he  _want_  to answer to Madara? Gaara wanted to speak to her candidly, but he just couldn't in front of Madara. "I am going back to Suna tomorrow, and I will be back to visit when it's time for all of the shogun to gather. It shouldn't be too long from now."

The clanking of armor broke the siblings out of their guarded conversation. Temari almost flinched when she heard Madara's voice so close behind her. "I want Temari to know what is going on here, but I'll tell her later myself. Now that your initial reunion is over, leave us. You'll see each other again before you leave."

Temari could see the hesitancy to leave in her brothers, but they left easily enough. It was once again just Madara and Temari. She heard him come closer to her. She hated that damn armor as it echoed loudly in the large room.

His hand gently grabbed her chin and turned her towards him. "You are more exquisite than my memories." He began backing her towards a low couch in the corner. His strides were much bigger than hers and she eventually tripped and fell backwards. He caught her and stopped moving. "I think that I'd like to take you to a more intimate room. He carried her down a few more hallways to a section where all of the rooms had sliding doors. He entered one of them and Temari was sure she would have collapsed if he weren't holding her. It looked exactly like the entertainment room from before.

The furniture was of higher quality but it was the same style, and the room looked a bit bigger but otherwise it was the same. She couldn't stand him carrying her anymore, and she struggled to get out of his grasp. He just laughed at her attempts and held on tighter. "I see you recognize this room. We'll be able to enjoy it how we used to but not yet."

He walked to the other sliding door and it opened onto a small courtyard. "This is yours. You can do whatever you want with it. All of the rooms that lead off of it are only for us." Temari could see that there were at least three more rooms but Madara led her to the one directly across from the first.

He slid open the doors to reveal what Temari could only guess was their bedroom. It was large but it felt stifling to Temari. The walls were a deep burgundy and the ceiling looked like wooden paneling. She was surprised to see the floor was carpeted in a complementary tan. There was still a weird shallow pit off to the side filled with pillows and blankets and Temari almost gave herself away when she noticed the pillows were the same ones from the old room.

"I tried to keep as much from our old place as possible. I thought that it might make you feel better." Temari hid her feelings well, but she knew what she was going to check for the first chance she got.

The bed was by far the largest thing in the room. It was against a wall and it was uplifted on some kind of pedestal and surrounded by three steps on all sides. It still had the Uchiha fans cut out of the dark wood and the sheets and bedspread looked black.

Temari knew what was coming and steeled herself for it. She closed her eyes and readied herself for the drop onto the bed. She could feel him walking but he never went up steps. She opened her eyes and found him standing in front of a wall. She tried to sit up a bit but he refused to accommodate her. He drew something on the wall and an opening appeared.

He went through it and Temari felt a chill run through her. The room was barely lit and covered in shadows. She heard the wall close up behind them, and Madara finally placed her on her feet. "You don't get to be in those rooms out there until you can prove to me in here that you know how to behave. No one will hear you in here and there's no way out except through me. I'm prepared to keep you in here until you either accept my rules or you die.

"Of course, I don't want you to die, so I will do everything in my power to prolong your life until you realize that anything would be better than the pitiful existence I'm willing to let you live. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

Temari was looking around the room and she could barely breathe. It was a veritable torture chamber. The walls were lined with chains and straps. There were bars and more things hanging from the ceiling. Temari's eyes came to rest on a small palette in the center of the room and she started backing away from it.

She wasn't going to put herself through this. She knew Madara was going to win, he had already won. She would agree to whatever his "rules" were. She knew she would be forced to in the long run anyway. She'd much rather get whatever he had planned over with and go see her brothers again.

She turned to him and nodded. She did not want any part of this room. He laughed at her and turned back towards the wall they came through. "I didn't imagine it would have been so easy to get you to agree to my terms. I haven't even shared them with you. Although I must say that you made the right decision.

"Come on, this has really lightened my mood and if you continue to act right I might just reward you for it." Temari grimaced at the thought of being rewarded like a dog but she did need her voice back. She doubted Madara would ever giver her all of her chakra back, but she needed to be able to communicate with people.

She followed him back into their bedroom and out towards the courtyard. She had to practically run to keep up with him in her kimono and she knew he got enjoyment out of it. He sat down on an ornate bench amongst some shrubs and she began to follow suit until he stopped her. "I didn't say you could sit."

He moved her in front of him and held her by her hips right below her obi. "I think it was best for both of us that I didn't see you for a while. I was so angry with you before that I'm sure I would have done something to you that I would have regretted. Now that I've calmed down and I have you here, I almost forget why I became so upset in the first place." He traced her jaw and rested his fingers on her lips. "Almost.

"I meant what I said before about earning everything from me. Let's see you've earned your living quarters by agreeing to my rules even though you don't even know what they are. The next thing you'll need to work for is time with your brothers. I killed all of the other kage, and I only spared his life because of you.

"I made sure he knew why he was spared. I expect he'll still give me some trouble, but I'd rather it come from him than someone else. I'm also going to keep your other brother here in the palace. He'll be treated well enough, but he's like you. He won't have access to any real amount of chakra, only enough to keep him stable and functioning. The last thing I need is some puppet imposter fooling my staff.

"I'm sure you noticed by now that what I did to you is no ordinary sealing of your chakra. Normally when one does that they block off your access to your own chakra. Instead I literally shut down most of your chakra producers.

"It's far more dangerous for the subject but far more effective. You are basically feeling the effects of near chakra depletion on a constant basis.

"I've given Tenten control over Kankurou. I doubt you have anything to worry about from her. She's nothing like me. Nod if you understand everything." Temari nodded and wondered how Kankurou was dealing with everything.

"Gaara is leaving in the morning, so what are you going to do to get me to allow you to see them tonight?" Temari couldn't believe she was back in this position already. He always demanded her to know impossible things and then punished her for only being human.

She racked her brain. She knew it wasn't a dance because that kind of thing always turned into an ordeal and she wasn't dressed for it.  _What does he want from me?_ She thought back to the last time this happened. Then he wanted her to hug and greet him. He wanted affection from her. She thought of Hiroko and the things she said.

Temari hated that woman all the more because it seemed that she may have been right. It still didn't really make sense to her though. Wouldn't Madara know that it was an act? Or did he want it so badly that he was willing to pretend as long as she made it believable?

"I'm waiting, and I won't wait for much longer." She nodded and sat on his lap. He leaned back against the bench and Temari took a deep breath. She brought her arms around his neck and let the thought of strangling him pass as quickly as it came. She closed her eyes and brought her face to his.

She hated him for making her do this. He made her feel like a prostitute and there was no other way of looking at it for her. She moved her lips against his and felt his hand go behind her head. His hold was just as firm as she remembered it; there was no moving until he allowed it.

She was feeling trapped on every level and she just wanted him to stop already. She hoped the more compliant she was the quicker it would all end. Either that or he would just take things farther than he originally planned because she was being easier than he expected. Temari figured that either way he would get what he wanted in the end. She just wanted to get to her brothers.

She could barely breathe, and when he wasn't inside her mouth he was nibbling on her anywhere his mouth could reach. It felt gross and wet and she knew she couldn't pretend to like it. That's when she realized that Hiroko was wrong. Madara may have wanted affection from her, but he liked that he was forcing it from her. He took pleasure in making her miserable. There was no way this monster wanted genuine love from her. Even if it  _was_  what he wanted from her there was no way he deserved it.

She wanted to protest. To ask him to stop and to let her see her brothers before it became too late. But he had taken that ability from her. He pinched her neck with his teeth and made her cry out. He spoke between kissing her, "Pay attention. I don't know what you're thinking, but I can tell it's not what you  _should_  be thinking about. Do I need to make things more interesting in order to get your full attention?"

She shook her head no and tried to ignore the hand working its way between her thighs. "I suppose I'll let you visit with your brothers. I'm also going to let them eat with us although  _you_  won't be eating. It may be a while before Gaara comes back to visit you and I am more understanding than you may think. I know what it's like to have siblings. I don't want you dancing for them, but I am going to let you sleep with them tonight. Tenten will be with you so don't get too many bright ideas.

"I know that Gaara could easily take her out, but he knows that he would have to deal with me and defend his two powerless siblings by himself. He won't try anything tonight. So cherish the respite. Stand up." He straightened Temari's kimono for her and told her that Tenten would help fix her hair before dinner.

Temari followed Madara back out through their bedroom to a large bathroom and then to what looked like a parlor. There was a desk a few book shelves and a few comfortable places to sit. "Wait here. I'll call for Tenten and see how long until dinner is prepared. I'll let you know when you have to start cooking for me again." Temari watched him leave and went back into the bathroom. She fixed her hair herself before taking a good look at herself in the mirror and willing herself not to cry.

If Tenten wants to do my hair from now on I'll let her. At least that way I won't have to actually look at myself in the mirror all the time.

Temari heard Tenten enter and went out to meet her. She learned that dinner would be ready in about an hour but that before then her brothers could come here to spend time with each other. Tenten went to get them and she hugged them again.

This time around she couldn't hide anything from them about her and Madara. It was obvious what Madara wanted her for and she couldn't even begin to explain anything or answer their questions.

She wasn't completely surprised that they seemed to avoid the subject, but she knew her brothers and she could see the concern written across their faces. All three of them shared the dreams they had in the God Tree. Temari wasn't surprised at Tenten's, but she could tell that Kankurou was keeping something away from her about his.

His dream mostly consisted of him being Chiyo's protégé and surpassing Sasori in skill. He was so skilled that Gaara offered him the role of Kazekage but he refused because he was "too much of a player for that kind of life." Apparently the girls couldn't get enough of him in his alternate reality, and he even had a couple males interested in him as well.

Temari laughed for the first time since the war ended after hearing his dream and loved him for it. Gaara's dream was so sweet and innocent that it made her cry. She wondered what had happened to Naruto and everyone else, but she feared that she wouldn't like the answer especially since it wasn't offered up freely.

Dinner was surprisingly uneventful. Except for the few questioning and concerned looks as Temari didn't eat, nothing entirely unpleasant occurred. Nothing pleasant happened either, but Temari wouldn't worry about that.

After she and Tenten changed into their pajamas, Tenten lead her to what she guessed was her and Kankurou's room. There were two futons that looked like they didn't belong in the room along with two permanent beds.

Tenten motioned towards one of the futons and Temari took her place on one. She may not have been able to say anything to them, but she hoped that her feelings were getting across. They were the only two good things left in her life, and she wanted them to know it.

She listened to Tenten, Gaara, and Kankurou talk about the last battle, and she eventually fell asleep to the sound of Kankurou's voice.

Temari woke up and she didn't know why. She looked around the room and had the feeling that someone was staring at her. She hoped it was her brother and tried to go back to sleep. She felt a presence come close to her, and she sighed. She should have known that he wouldn't have left her alone their first night back under the same roof. Large hands wrapped her in her blanket and picked her up. There was no point in struggling. They were almost at the door when she heard her brother.

"Is something wrong with my sister? Why are you taking her?" Temari's heart stopped. She should have known that Gaara would not have gone to sleep. He remained quite the insomniac through years of practice. She looked up at Madara, but she couldn't read his expression well in the dark.

"We'll talk tomorrow, shogun."

"Leave her. We're all trying to sleep. You said that we could be together tonight, and I didn't think you were one to go back on your word."

Madara's grip tightened around Temari. "You did spend the night together, and you'll see her again after day breaks. She will spend the morning with me." He exited the room quickly, and Temari hoped that he wouldn't take his anger out on her.

He brought her to their bedroom and laid her on the bed. She was wide awake by now and figured Madara only had one thing on his mind. She was tired and didn't want him to touch her. Although when she wasn't tired she still didn't want him to touch her.

He unwrapped the blanket from around her and saw that she had borrowed some of Tenten's pajamas. He would have to address that later, but for now he could overlook it. He pulled the gray flannel pants and her panties off at the same time and it triggered something horrible in her. She knew her body wasn't ready for this. It had been so long since the last time that she knew it would hurt again.

It was going to happen whether she wanted it to or not. She wanted to ask him to please go slow, but she couldn't. She couldn't bargain with him or make any kind of request. She was beginning to feel the true weight of her forced silence. She became acutely aware of every sound around her and how quiet it was. She heard his breathing increase and the rustle of his pants. She knew what he was doing and let out an involuntary sob.

She was crying and it was all she could hear. Her stomach trembled as he reached under her shirt. His hand was cold and she instinctively moved to stop him. He grabbed her wrists and brought them to her stomach and pushed down.

He bore down with all his weight as he shifted over her and it hurt more than it should. "I've missed you so much. I couldn't sleep well knowing you were so close and yet not within reach. Did you miss this too?"

She felt him begin to push against her but she didn't want it.  _"Please stop. It's going to hurt too much."_  Nothing. It was just the sound of heavy breathing and the annoying too small sounds she was capable of. This was worse than being gagged. She decided that she would much rather be gagged than this. Without the gag it felt like she was choosing to not say anything.

The push came suddenly and harshly. He didn't go slowly, and he wasn't gentle. She could still scream out and she couldn't stop herself from doing it. How could she have forgotten this pain? His hand continued to push her wrists into her stomach while the other went to her breast. She felt all of his weight in combination with the pain that wouldn't let up. She could hear his grunts and sounds and she almost wanted to die. How could anyone ask her to see this as anything other than rape?

Madara felt primal and powerful. He was already a man capable of conquering the world, but being with Temari made him truly feel invincible. She was beauty and life and everything right. She was divine fate and he trapped her. There was  _nothing_  he couldn't do and get away with.

"Do you like this?" Temari let out another cry from a hard thrust and realized that without her words he could imagine her experiencing anything he wanted. Her pain could be interpreted as her pleasure.

She was whatever he wanted her to be. She was his little dancing doll who didn't speak and who was always available to him. She cried and started to hyperventilate. Would he ever give her her voice back?

She winced as he pushed her shirt up and bit down on her breasts. He was biting too hard but her whimper only propelled him further. He licked and nibbled her chest as his other hand went farther down.

He slowed his thrusts and Temari's eyes widened in fear as the pain began to increase. He seemed to reach a deeper place each time and Temari was on the verge of panicking. Her cries weren't as harsh as before because she was barely breathing through the pain.

But that ended with a hard twisting pinch on her most sensitive part. She yelled loudly but he cut it off with a smothering kiss. She didn't know if he thought she liked it or what, but she would have done anything to end the encounter. She felt his breathing change and he picked up his speed again. He pushed her legs out wide before finishing inside of her.

He stayed in her making her sick from the liquid she could feel inside of her. He dropped her legs and practically fell on top of her and stayed there for too long. She was getting smothered but she couldn't even manage to move her arms from under him. She didn't remember him being  _this_  heavy before. She could barely breathe against all of his weight.

The noises coming out of her as she struggled disgusted her because she knew Madara liked them. He was seriously crushing her and then the worst feeling in the world came. He was getting hard again-inside of her.

 _"No!"_ She just wanted the night to be over. He finally lifted himself off of her and pulled out. He grabbed her legs and in one swift motion brought her ankles to her head and held them together with one hand.

Temari hadn't been incredibly active for almost a month and she definitely hadn't stretched. So even though her legs moved that way easily it was uncomfortable, and it was embarrassing. She tried to cover herself with her hands and she knew she looked like a fool. She knew because Madara laughed at her.

He laughed at her and then pushed her ankles down even farther before pushing himself in. Temari could practically feel him in her back and she cried out with every push. He came quickly this time and Temari was only thankful when he finally let go of her ankles.

She hurt so badly she wasn't sure if she could stand and walk to the bathroom. She pulled her shirt back down and slowly sat up to look for her pants. A hand in her hair stopped her. It gripped it hard before dragging her back down on the bed. "I really do love those sounds you make." He pulled her close and relaxed in preparation to sleep.

His breathing settled down and right when she suspected he was sleep he spoke, "I didn't mean for it to be this way. I wanted to wait, but I can't when it comes to you." He held her tighter. "Actually, I don't really think I'm meant to wait when you're involved. You are the one thing in my life where I can just let go and act exactly how I want. I don't have to think about schemes and plans or repercussions. There's just you and me and that's all that matters."

 _What about me? I don't matter at all in this equation of yours. You literally don't even want to hear what I have to say. You take my forced silence as acquiescence and call it…I don't even know._  Temari let out a deep sigh.

"I missed you too." He actually did fall asleep this time but his grip stayed strong throughout the rest of the day's early hours. Temari didn't get any sleep and welcomed the morning light through the courtyard.

Madara woke and left her in the bed while he went to the bathroom and got ready for the day. He told her that she was free until dinner when she was expected to dance for him and that Gaara would probably be leaving soon. She washed and found more clothes similar to what she wore in the apartment. She was grateful they weren't very constricting. She did notice that they didn't fit perfectly. For instance the dress she had on was a little too short and a bit too small in the hips, but it was better than a too tight kimono like yesterday.

Tenten was waiting for her in her sitting room and led her to her brothers. No one asked why she wasn't with them when they woke up. She wouldn't have been able to answer even if they did.

Somehow Kankurou distracted Tenten and Gaara was able to finally speak to Temari privately. "Temari, I- I love you no matter what. Life never looked on our family kindly but we're still here despite it all. I'm sure you figured out that Madara is using mainly you and Kankurou to keep me under his thumb. I don't mind really. If it weren't me, he would just find someone weaker, and still do what he wanted with the two of you and possibly hurt Suna out of spite. At least this way I can keep tabs on him, and try to organize some kind of rebellion. All isn't lost yet, but you and Kankurou will probably be here for quite a while.

"I can't trust anyone with a message to you two so you'll just have to wait until I'm invited back for fresh news. But I won't give up on you or Kankurou. I know it's a lot to ask of you right now, but I need you to watch out for Kankurou. I don't know what Madara has planned for him, but I know it's something unpleasant.

"He's made a few comments hinting at things I don't even want to think about. And then there's you…Just try to take care of yourself. I- You- I was happy when you told us before that Madara just tortured you, but I'm glad now that it was more." Gaara saw the confusion on her face and hurried to explain himself. "If he weren't so…interested in you then I'm sure you, Kankurou, and I would have been killed by now.

"You've saved us. I can't imagine the torture he's putting you through. You're hiding it well, but I can tell you're in pain right now. He won't even let you speak for goodness sake. But please try to persevere. We all heard him come and get you, but there was nothing we could really do. I promise that I'll do everything I can to bring him down. Just be careful, and try to write to me. I'll ask Madara if he can allow you and Kankurou that."

Kankurou returned with a slightly flustered Tenten. "Hey you two, sorry that took so long. I'm still getting used to this place."

"I'm just about to head out. I need to speak with Uchiha-sama, so let me get another good look at you before I go." They all stood in front of each other and right before Gaara left he turned and said, "Temari, that dress really doesn't fit you. When did you start dressing like you were thirteen again?"

Temari had to laugh because it really did look like something she may have worn back then. It even fit like she stole it from her younger self.

Tenten left her and Kankurou in order to escort Gaara to Madara. Temari noticed that Kankurou was avoiding her and she wouldn't stand for it. She grabbed his shoulder and turned him towards her. He got the message and apologized. "I'm sorry, Temari. I'm just really uncomfortable with all of this. It's not every day you find out your sister is- well, you know what with the most evil man on the planet." She hit him as hard as she could and he felt it because he was in the same physical condition as her.

"Ow! That hurt. A lot. I can't wait to get my chakra back. I'm sorry though. I know it's not your choice, but it's still weird. I mean, when he came to get you last night, I expected a bit of a struggle, but then again what could either of us do in our state anyway?

"Honestly Temari, I don't know what Gaara told you but I'm pretty scared. I feel strange without my puppets, and I don't even have enough chakra to control a mouse. I don't know how you handle it so well." Temari guffawed at his last remark. What on earth was she handling well?

"He said something the other day before you came that I just can't forget either. After he made me wash my face paint off he wondered if-if certain talents ran in the family and if he could get some use out of me. Don't laugh, but I think he wants to pimp me out to his connections or something. I just hope that  _nobody_ he does business with likes boys."

Temari desperately wanted to laugh at him, but she knew all too well how serious Madara could be. In fact he never joked. If he said it, he meant it. This meant that most of her family was nothing more than toys to him. She had brought this attention on to her brother, and she would try to protect him any way she could.

She wanted to call his worries ludicrous, but instead she cried and hugged him tightly. At least she wasn't alone anymore. She could make it through for him.

Her stomach growled, and she chuckled at the ruined moment. But Kankurou just frowned. "Has he still not let you eat?" She shook her head. "Does he use food against you often?" She nodded. There was no use sugarcoating anything anymore. He would find out the truth no matter what anyway. "Will he let you eat tonight?" She shrugged. She really didn't know if she would eat today or tomorrow at that. He let her drink water but that was it.

"Why does he do that? It's not like you can really rebel against him. Or did he do it to show Gaara he could punish you for his actions? What he's doing doesn't make sense. Why would he want you weak? Or does he-" Temari put her hand over his mouth. She didn't want to hear anymore. She knew why he did it. He liked control. He needed it. And what better way to let her know he controlled her.

He made her into this pretty thing that didn't eat, didn't speak, and didn't breathe without his permission. She could only live if he gave her permission. Gaara and Kankurou were his way of giving her more reasons to want to keep living. And it worked.

She would dance her heart out for him if it meant her brother would be left alone. Her mind couldn't help going back to Hiroko one more time. She was both right and wrong.


	15. Traditional

"...And finally there's Temari. Your sister can either be a symbol of your acceptance, and I will refer to her as a gift. Or she can be my prize and show the power and dominance I have over you. They are similar choices, but I will leave the framing up to you. Either way she will belong to me and she won't take a step out of Konoha."

"I know you've already spread rumors that she was a traitor who picked you over everything else. Why would anyone believe either of these new options now?" asked Gaara.

"I'll show you how easily people will believe what I tell them to believe. And you should know it's possible for there to be more than one truth. Now choose. But know that with your brother there is no choice. You know that I will not kill Temari, but I have no problem killing him."

* * *

Madara watched Gaara leave the palace before heading to the next item on his agenda. He hated the potential in Gaara to be a great leader. He wasn't jealous of the young boy; he just really wanted to kill him. The boy somehow managed to get around putting official language on what Temari was, and left the choice to him. He was absolutely insufferable. But Madara couldn't stop the smirk that came upon his face. He knew just the right kind of language to keep the framing of Temari a bit ambiguous for the masses. They still wouldn't know for sure if she was a gift, a prize, or willing participant.

Madara had learned how Gaara used to be. If only  _this_  Gaara still had a touch of his old madness, Madara could have taken a real liking to him. He would have even thought of taking him under his wing now that he had a relationship with his sister.

Madara thought about trying to bring his madness back out of him, but quickly dismissed it. Gaara would have to lose everything to consider entering that frame of mind, and Madara wasn't willing to lose Temari just to gain Gaara.

He could always kill Gaara, and it wouldn't matter. What would anyone do to him? What  _could_ anyone do to him? But he worried that if he killed Gaara that Temari would harm herself in return and become too despondent to be any fun. He remembered the hell he fell into after losing his siblings, and he wouldn't put Temari through that unless he absolutely had to. Of course, no one else needed to know that was how he actually felt about things.

He stopped mid-stride. He consistently surprised himself with how Temari made him feel. He was leaving her brothers alive despite what he wanted. It was further proof to him that she was supposed to be with him. He could imagine no one else he'd be willing to change his plans for.

He suddenly wanted to see her, but he needed to take care of a few things first. Madara entered his throne room and looked around.

"Uchiha-sama we've collected everyone you wanted."

"Good, now who wants to die?"

* * *

Temari learned from Tenten that she would begin cooking again tonight. This time instead of just fixing food for herself and Madara she had to prepare dinner for Tenten and Kankurou as well. However she only had to worry about dinner from now on.

Temari sighed at the unwelcome news.  _I'm not a freaking chef! Why do I have to spend so much time in this damn kitchen? I do not like cooking!_

Kankurou began to laugh at the idea of Temari cooking every day, but stopped the instant he saw her face. Tenten noticed her distress as well and offered an explanation, "I think he just wants to keep you preoccupied. On busier days you probably won't have to cook."

No, Temari knew it was more than just busy work. Everything with him was more than just what it was on the surface.

Tenten showed her that one of the cabinets was actually a hidden bookshelf. "If you need any ingredients we don't have, just indicate which recipe you want to make, and I'll get it for you.

Kankurou started looking through some of the books. "I still can't believe he's making you cook. Has he had your cooking before? I mean, I'm much better at cooking than you. Better yet, he could just hire Chouji's mom or something, and have you do something else to keep busy."

Temari couldn't believe what he just said to her. She forgot how much of an insensitive jerk Kankurou could be. He was the kind of guy who never realized he was being a jerk until it was explained to him. Temari loved him, and that bit of innocence about him, but she really wanted to fight him. Thankfully Tenten smacked him on the head and told him to shut up.

"You're being an asshole, Kankurou."

Kankurou chose to ignore her, "Look Temari, he even has some books on Suna dishes. You should make us a meal from home sometime." Tenten hit him again. "Who gave you permission to keep hitting me?"

"Would you like to ask Uchiha-sama who gave me permission?" Kankurou shut up and continued looking through the cookbooks. "That's what I thought. How are you even related to Gaara and Temari? I didn't know intelligence skipped over middle siblings in some families."

Tenten and Kankurou stayed in the kitchen with her. One for company and the other to make sure she didn't eat anything. She prepared dinner and also remembered to make a fruit tart for dessert. Tenten lead her back to Madara's room, and told her to shower.

When she returned Tenten and Kankurou were waiting for her. Tenten had a strange look on her face, but Temari couldn't care less if something was troubling her. She finally spoke, "Madara wants you and Kankurou to witness something this evening. Kankurou, he wants you to wear something nice. Temari, he wants you dressed to perform for him or something. That creepy zetsu guy is back, and he'll be the one helping you." At that moment Zetsu came through the door. "I don't really get why Zetsu's the one helping you and I'm helping Kankurou, but whatever. Come on Kankurou. You follow me."

Temari wanted to say  _why don't you ask "Uchiha-sama" about it?_  And two seconds later she heard Kankurou say, "You can ask your wonderful Uchiha-sama about it when you tell him I don't want you hitting me for no reason."

Temari smiled. At least Kankurou said it for her. They left, and Temari surprisingly found that she was looking forward to some alone time with Zetsu. She wanted to know if he was actually OK, and to thank him for helping her escape.

Zetsu came in and immediately went for the closet filled with kimonos. Temari walked up to him waiting for his usual banter, but it never came.

Temari had enough of the silence by the time he started fixing her hair. She put both hands on his shoulders and gave him a questioning look.

"I'm sorry, Temari. But he'll kill me the next time I mess up. I have to make sure you look perfect. I'm also not allowed to converse with you the way we used to. Z was the funnier one anyway." He put the last decoration in her hair and helped her put on the uchikake and motioned for her to follow him.

Temari caught her reflection in the mirror and stopped to look at herself. The ensemble she had on was ridiculously opulent. It was gold and cream with a pair of red dancing cranes. It was gorgeous. The uchikake complemented the kimono beautifully and Temari didn't look or feel anything like herself. Her hair was in its normal style but her head seemed to be framed by gold filigree fans and pearls. She looked closer and made out small Uchiha crests within the ornate fans and her stomach dropped.

She became extremely worried when she saw Kankurou in a burgundy and white formal kimono that did not belong to him.  _What does he have planned?_  Zetsu left the three of them almost immediately.

Kankurou stopped to look at her. "Wow, Temari. I've never seen you look so pretty. You look like you're getting married or something." Kankurou's statement hung in the air for a moment. Temari couldn't respond verbally, but she was sure her face looked troubled because Kankurou muttered, "Sorry, I just- I'm sorry. I'm sorry about before too. I wasn't really thinking. "

Tenten added, "Yeah, you do look nice. Then again, anyone would probably look nice in that getup." They left the private wing and made their way to the throne room. Tenten stopped Temari and Kankurou before they entered. "Kankurou, we're going in first. After the door closes behind us count to ten and then enter."

Temari waited and when the doors opened she was more than surprised. She was also embarrassed. The room was large with an extremely tall ceiling, and the large amount of people in it only emphasized just how big it was. She saw Madara standing on an elevated section of the room in front of an austere throne. Temari wondered why he would contrast the rest of his surroundings with such a plain seat, but she was soon preoccupied.

She looked out at the large number of people present, and realized that they weren't just anybody. They were all shinobi.

These people knew her as a shinobi. She could tell by the shocked looks some were giving her that they never imagined they would see her dressed like this. She took her first step. The room was silent except for the soft tinkle of her kanzashi and the rustling of fabric. There were so many faces she vaguely recognized from the war. She looked through the crowd for the faces of the few people she talked to in Konoha, but she could only find Shino and Sakura. Sakura was easy to spot because of her hair and Shino and his family because of their glasses. Sakura looked at her with pity clearly expressed on her face. She couldn't tell what Shino thought, but he didn't turn away.

She walked over to Kankurou and stood next to him still surveying the crowd trying to pretend that half of them weren't staring at her.

"Now we can begin. Everyone," He motioned over to Temari, "this is my Temari. Temari, come here." She didn't move. The possibility of this meeting being about her was paralyzing.

She felt a small nudge from Tenten and reluctantly walked next to him. Her heart was beating so loudly that she was sure everyone in the room could hear it. She turned and faced the crowd. "Some of you may know her, but I assure you that you have never seen her look so radiant. Please extend her the respect my concubine deserves."

Temari's eyes widened and she looked over to Madara.  _CONCUBINE! I'm his concubine! He called me his concubine in front of everyone. What does that even mean in Konoha?_  She remembered that book he gave her about Konoha culture and recalled a short paragraph that stated concubines, though the status and term was no longer used, had even less social standing than they did in Suna.

This was a nightmare. Temari had stopped breathing until she felt two hands on her shoulders. He had moved directly behind her framing her entire body.

"Temari is an amazing person, and I deserve to have her. Her place is with me. She knows it, and now you all know it too." Temari wanted to move away from his firm grip. But it would be a fight she would lose, and it wouldn't be worth the punishment. She remembered what Hiroko told her. By now, everyone probably believed she wanted to be there, so the small struggle would only seem like a show to them anyway. She wanted to just disappear.

"Temari, is there anything you'd like to say?"  _Damn him!_  She wanted to shout that she would not be his concubine, but her pride wouldn't allow her to create such a useless scene. She couldn't show her true feelings. So instead she remained still, swallowing the words she couldn't say. He began speaking again after a moment.

"There really is nothing she has to say to any of you anymore. Temari is mine, and mine alone. If you find yourself jealous or upset about it, I do not blame you." He lightly traced the bare skin revealed by the kimono on her back. "Just come talk to me about it, and we will work something out for your needs. Of course not with Temari, but I do want everyone to be as happy as they can be. Konoha is the best place on earth, and I want everyone to know it and believe it. However there are more privileges allowed for the more compliant." Temari was beginning to feel sick. Was this all just to torture her?

"Now for the main reason I gathered you all here. Happiness requires sacrifice. I want to show you all how your loved ones come back, and I'm going to do this for the first time in front of you. Bring him out!"

Two guards wheeled out an unconscious man and a murmur went through the crowd. Temari guessed that many in the crowd recognized him. "Quiet! Place him in the middle of the markings."

Temari finally noticed the markings on the ground and became a bit worried when she saw that she was also standing on them. Madara easily ushered her to his side off of the seal on the floor.

He pulled out a scroll that disappeared in an instant and a talisman and began to go through signs more quickly than she could decipher. The man in the seal began to scream, and matter that seemed to come from nowhere engulfed his body. It was clear that whoever that man was, he was him no longer.

She heard a few cries come from the crowd and assumed that they were close to the man Madara had just murdered. She saw the once large man turn into a slender Yakushi Kabuto.

Temari wasn't that surprised. Wasn't Kabuto one of the main people fighting them during the war? Why wouldn't he begin by resurrecting his former comrades? She wasn't sure how Kabuto died, but he was always more evil than good.

He looked like the Kabuto she remembered seeing in Bingo books. But everyone else had a very different reaction. They were clearly surprised, and Temari didn't know why.

Kabuto looked confused at first, but quickly recognized the jutsu he had used so frequently. He began to go through the signs just as Madara did during the war, but Madara stuck a talisman into his neck and sealed him in an instant. "This one needs a little talking to before he realizes what's going on. But this is how it works. That man is gone. Even if you were to undo the jutsu, he'd still be dead. To bring the body completely back from the dead requires another sacrifice. So for every loved one you want returned to you, two people must die.

"Now I know that not everyone here wants someone returned to them, or perhaps this new knowledge upsets your delicate sense of morality and you want to change your mind. Those of you who want someone have already signed a contract and whether you want it or not I will bring the person back even if it is just to kill them again. For those of you here who have not signed, I obviously still want something from you or you would already be in prison or dead. You either give me what I want or I will sacrifice those you care about to bring back others.

"So you see if someone is desperate enough, they may turn you in for being a bad citizen if it means that they are going to get their loved ones back sooner or so that their loved one will not be the next one on the chopping block."

Temari looked up to Madara and then out among the crowd of people. He loved what he was doing to them. Temari felt pain for everyone in that room. Then she remembered that they could all leave this palace and figure out their lives. She was the only one who had to deal with Madara at all times, and her empathy for the crowd began to dissipate.

How many of them cared that she was the one who had to stand and lay next to him? She had to endure this man's touch and no one cared for her feelings. They all thought she was someone willing to sell herself for her and her family's safety.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized they were right. If given the choice to sleep with Madara or watch her brothers die she would have hardly hesitated. The problem was that she was never given that choice. What could she sell that he hadn't already laid claim to?

That was the difference. These people got to choose. They got a chance to weigh the options, sign contracts, and negotiate with their own conscious.

She was told to lie down and like it.

* * *

Everyone left and she followed Madara to a room she had not been in before. Tenten and Kankurou followed them too.

"I need to have a few words with Kabuto. You three wait for me here. Others will join you shortly."

Within ten minutes quite a few shinobi came into the room but not nearly as many as before. This appeared to be the VIP gathering.

As they filed into the room they all seemed to pause and look at the three of them before continuing to talk amongst themselves.

She noticed a lot of important Konoha shinobi like Sakura, Ino and a few other Yamanaka, Chouji and his dad, Kiba and his family, Shino and his dad, and Shikamaru just to name a few. They each had a person next to them who Temari didn't recognize but she could guess that they were important to most of the people there. Some had children next to them, but Temari couldn't guess why right away. Shizune was someone with a child by her, but Temari was positive that Shizune didn't have any children.

Her eyes went to Kabuto as he entered with Madara about fifteen minutes later. Something was off about him, but with Madara involved she wasn't that surprised. She was sure she seemed off too.

A few eyes left her rather quickly while others lingered. She was used to being looked at, but usually because of her own choices. These looks felt invasive and uninvited even though she was fully clothed.

She scanned the crowd and tried to keep her head up and proud. She refused to be ashamed in front of people who actually knew her for something that was beyond her control. It was not her fault she was here. This was the most she could do for herself at the moment, so she did it.

Madara walked into the center of the room and began, "You are all here because I would like you all to work for the Uchiha Empire. You all have special talents that I think would be a waste to destroy. However, I am willing to do just that or worse if you choose to not cooperate with me. Who here is having second thoughts about working for me?"

Temari looked around and she heard her kanzashi tinkle from the movement. Everyone seemed to be waiting for the first one to speak. Temari desperately wanted to say she didn't want to work for him, but not only could she literally not protest she knew  _her_  cooperation was not an option. Force seemed to be a perfectly legitimate option when it came to her.

Her eyes went to Shikamaru and the woman next to him. The woman looked tough and didn't show any signs of worry. Shikamaru wore his usual mask of indifference, but Temari could tell that he was thinking harder than usual and trying to hide it.

"I expected at least one of you to speak up. Is there really no one here who wants to test me?" He walked along them teasing each person. Taunting them to be the shinobi they wanted to be instead of the pitiful creatures they were.

No one took the bait. "I see. You all probably think it is better to serve under me now, and then take me down later when I least expect it. Well here is some information for your next resistance meeting: I am always expecting it. And with the seal on each and every one of you I can shut off or limit your chakra at a moment's notice."

This was news to Temari and suddenly things made more sense. This must have been the large complicated seal he was working on. Temari guessed that anyone who had been in the tree had this kind of seal on them.

She looked around to gauge their reactions to his words and she noticed Shikamaru now pointedly avoiding her, and Temari realized that it hurt. Why couldn't he even make eye contact with her? Was she so disgusting to him that he couldn't even look at her? He was her closest friend in Konoha, and if he was disgusted with her she had no hope for anyone else.

Madara continued, "As you can see, Kabuto is now completely revived and it only took another uncooperative prisoner. It is also evident that Kabuto had a change of heart near the end of his life, so he needed a little persuasion as well.

"I placed him in the God Tree in order to get my seal on him, and I happened to find a little orphanage he was fond of. I even identified some of his old friends from it. So he truly has the same motivations as the rest of you…and a few desires I have agreed to help come to fruition." Temari saw a devious look come across his face and knew that Kabuto's desires probably meant someone else's hell.

"Kabuto has agreed to be in charge of a few things for me, and one of those things is community health. I understand that Kabuto and Shizune have some history. I'd like to know if you two can move past it and work together." He gave Kabuto a sideways glance and asked, "Or should I just be asking Shizune? I already know how you feel Kabuto, and depending on how things go, you may or may not get what you want. Shizune, what's your answer?"

"Uchiha-sama, as long as all you ask me to do is my job as a healthcare provider, I will work with Kabuto. However, I will not participate in anything inhumane or unethical."

Madara smirked at her response and Temari got a horrible feeling for Shizune.

"From now on you are Temari's doctor. You will attend to her first before any other duties every morning unless otherwise directed." Madara turned to Shikamaru and paused. "Shizune, take Temari and do her first exam over in the next room. The child with you may leave." Temari followed Shizune out of the room. Madara waited until the door was closed and the child gone before he continued.

He turned and went back to Kabuto. "Kabuto and Shikamaru plus your asset stay. The rest of you can leave. You'll hear from a representative soon. Tenten and Kankurou, you stay too."

"Shikamaru, please follow me. I would like to talk to you privately for a moment." Shikamaru didn't hesitate to follow him, but he wore a calm look of disinterest. They went in the opposite direction and Madara observed him for a moment before quietly asking, "What do you think of the kimono?"

Shikamaru only let his surprise show for a moment before he assessed his situation. He glanced over to his mother and sighed with his whole body.

"I never would have imagined her actually wearing something like that. I don't think it's her taste."

"Hmm... You think it was a bad choice?"

"It was a good choice for your purpose. I don't think it suits her, but it suits you."

"Yes, that it does. And what 'suits  _me_ ' is best. But what do you suppose was 'my purpose?'"

Shikamaru paused before answering. He knew that he was on shaky ground and that Madara could easily kill him and/or his mother without any warning. He finally answered, "I can't pretend to know what you intended to do. I only know that she was an impressive distraction for many in the room. And you've shown your dominance over one of the strongest kunoichi alive. It shows that you want to have domain over our cultural and social lives as well as our political and physical lives. There is no escaping your influence, and you don't plan on letting us lead our lives as usual."

"I am glad, but not surprised you told me the truth. I have another question for you: Can I trust you around her?" Shikamaru looked confused for a moment, and then remembered that Uchiha knew  _all_  of their desires. He knew that Shikamaru felt  _something_  for Temari, even though  _Shikamaru_  wasn't even sure what that something was.

"Of course, Uchiha-sama, Temari is off-limits. I understood that before you even came around."

"Yes, you  _are_  clever. But I won't tolerate anything when it comes to her. You can look all you want, but don't think about touching her. Now are we going to have a problem?"

Shikamaru shook his head. Madara went on, "You know, I can't blame you for dreaming about her, Nara. She is beyond words. But you were right. She was  _always_ off limits to you. We will talk about your official position in this empire soon. As for now, you can leave with your mother."

Madara returned to the three remaining people in the room. "Kabuto, I have you in a position of trust and authority, but you will have to prove yourself to me before I give you domain over Shizune."

Tenten's eyes widened in surprise, "What do you mean? What did Shizune do? And why trust him so much?"

"I trust him just the right amount. And Shizune has done absolutely nothing. But if someone loyal to me identifies her as key to his happiness then I'm willing to give her to him. There is nothing wrong with this. But Kabuto has not yet earned that kind of prize from me, and Shizune has not yet betrayed me to just give her to him."

Tenten nodded but it didn't sit right with her. She suddenly wanted to be by herself to think things over.

* * *

Temari followed Shizune out to the next room. She was sweating from the idea of Shizune finding her birth control. It was imperative that Shizune understood her situation. They sat down and Shizune began by asking Temari how she felt and if anything was worrying her.

Temari nodded and pointed to her belly and then her arm. Shizune did a quick body scan and handed Temari a small pad and pen.

"First off, why can't you speak?" Temari quickly wrote that Madara sealed her voice and no one but him could release it. "I see...So all of that back there must have been very hard for you." Temari nodded and Shizune went on, "So why are you worried about your birth control? It seems to be working just fine." Temari quickly wrote that Madara didn't know about it, and he expected her to  _eventually_ become pregnant.

Shizune quickly saw the quandary they were both in. Not even two minutes into her new job and she was faced with a dilemma. Madara would definitely ask about Temari's fertility if he was concerned about a child. Shizune didn't believe that Temari was here because she wanted to be and selling her out would feel like betraying a comrade. But what would Madara do to them if he found out they lied to him?

"Look Temari, I won't tell him about this, but I won't put a new one in you either. You have at least another year and a half before it needs replacement. Let's just hope for both our sakes that no one finds out."

Temari wrote that Zetsu knew, but he hasn't told Madara yet. Shizune nodded, "Well it looks like everything else is fine with you. Why does he want me to come over every day? Is he just overprotective?" Temari shook her head and wrote that he's the exact opposite. She wrote that sometimes he hurts her very badly, and she needs medical attention. It happens more often than not, and it's easier to just have Shizune come every day.

"What do you mean 'hurts you very badly?' He seems to dote on you and show you off."

Temari shook her head and wrote, "He's been waiting for a doctor to be on hand. He's almost killed me more than once. He can't not hit me. Frankly, I'll feel a lot safer knowing a real doctor will be able to see me on a regular basis."

Shizune nodded her slight understanding and they both stood to return to Madara as Shizune destroyed the pages Temari wrote on.

* * *

Madara dismissed Shizune. He also dismissed Tenten and Kankurou and told Temari to go wait for him for dinner.

It was just him and Kabuto.

Kabuto began, "There's no one I want to be revived."

"Yes, I know."

"Will you really get her for me?"

"Of course, I said I would do it."

"And then you're going to use her against me."

"I can already do that. You see I know that what you really want is a family and not just any family, but a real one. You can only get that from Shizune. Not just because you already love her, but because she's compassionate enough to put everyone above her own needs. She would end up caring more about your little orphanage than you, and that is just  _one_  thing you love about her.

"So understand that either before or after you  _have_  her I can get whatever I want out of you. And, thanks to one of my own clan, we both know that having people you care about is worth it. So you are not going to convince me all these things do not matter to you.

"I myself recently went through a metamorphosis. It may not seem it, but-and you should view this as a sign of trust, but I know firsthand what having someone you care about can do for you. Having your family will be worth everything in the end."

Kabuto remained suspicious, but he found his guard wanting to drop. His few interactions with Madara had proved to be some of the most honest ones he had in his life. He was used to being manipulated but this felt different from his dealings with Danzo and Orochimaru. This felt like a true exchange. Kabuto was always drawn to the powerful and for once Madara didn't seem to have any machinations he wasn't also willing to reveal to him.

"I have other things to do this evening, so I must leave you. Go to your room assignment and rest. Tomorrow will be the first day of your new life, and I promise you will like it."

* * *

Temari was sitting in the entertainment room waiting for Madara. All the food was laid out for him, and even though she was starving she didn't dare eat anything. It was all arranged in a way that would make it obvious if she did.

On top of that, she felt a bit sick after what she had seen earlier that day. She wondered if Tenten felt the same about Neji and Gai-sensei. And now that she had a moment to think, she figured that Madara could use Kankurou in one of those resurrection jutsu as easily as anyone else. He wanted her to be aware of how the jutsu worked just like everyone else.

Then there was the concubine issue? Temari didn't want to admit it, but she at least thought that she would garner wife status in his life. But as she thought more about it she acknowledged that she was exactly what he said. A wife was a partner; she was a slave.

 _I'm his concubine._ Temari cried, and she didn't try to stop it. She felt like nothing. She eyed the knife on the table. She picked it up and envisioned her blood ruining the expensive garment she wore. She laughed. At this point she felt like she was worth less than her outfit. She heard the door slide open and looked up.

Madara's face quickly changed to one of concern. Everything was wrong: Temari was not up to greet him, he couldn't tell if she was laughing or crying, and she was holding a knife. He fought down his urge to knock her back to her senses and instead said, "Put the knife down, and come greet me."

Temari stopped laughing and put the knife back on the table, but the crying didn't stop.

She stood up, but couldn't make her legs move towards him. He sighed. He had hoped that she would not react this way.

"Serve me." They both sat down and Temari fixed him his plate. "I am sorry you are upset." Temari froze for a second and then finished placing his plate before him. "I needed you to understand what is at stake with your brother. And perhaps I should have warned you about today, but I think you handled it all beautifully. And you looked so regal."

Madara and Temari ate for a while, but something was still bothering her, and he didn't like it. He asked her, "Are you upset that you're my concubine?"

If Temari wasn't so hungry she would've slammed down her chopsticks, instead she just tensed her grip.

"You  _are_  upset I told everyone you're my concubine, aren't you?" Temari ignored the question and continued to eat. It was one thing to be treated like one in private, but to actually hear him say it in front of  _everyone_  was something else entirely. She felt shame, and something else she couldn't quite pinpoint. She was almost afraid to question her own feelings about what just happened.

"Listen Temari, I don't think you should think about the label so much. It does not mean I care for you any less. It's just what you are. You are my concubine, but it's more important to remember that you are  _mine._

"As far as marriage goes, I don't plan on marrying anyone. I do recognize the benefits a marriage can have. Even though I don't see the need arising, it's always an option for me. And why should I marry you when I already have you? Your children will still be legitimate, and you still belong to me.

"Actually, this way you belong to me even more. To get technical, you are my prisoner of war, and I have the legal right to make you whatever I want. A concubine is my property. I could have chosen to make you my slave; this is much better. And if you were my wife, cheating would be adultery. This way you have no rights, and I can legally punish you if you violate my rules in any manner. If you cheated on me, I could do whatever I wanted to you, and the fool who dared to touch you could be legally punished.

"Do not worry about there being others either. I do not plan on having a whole compound of concubines. The word was just the best choice. And it kind of reinforces the idea that you are from Suna. And when it comes to the people from Konoha, well you know what they think of most foreigners."

Temari was horrified by what she just heard. There was so much in what he said that she could barely stay calm. He was right about her being his concubine. She wouldn't want to marry him anyway, then she would need a divorce to be truly free of him. So should she be happy he made her a concubine instead? At least this meant that there was a possibility that he could tire of her and turn her out of the palace. There was nothing binding him to her just her to him.

_Hiroko was right. He probably really does love me, and literally has no idea how love should be manifested. This is fine to him because I'm not powerful enough to stop it, and neither is anyone else. So he's free to make me whatever he wants, and I'm free to do nothing but please him._

He leaned towards her and held her. "Temari, I'm going to let you speak for a little while." She felt his thumb run down her throat. "Now tell me if I'm right about why you're upset."

"No." Temari hadn't heard her own voice in so long she almost didn't recognize it. It sounded a little raspy, but it wasn't as hoarse as she expected. But most importantly it was back. "You're wrong. I don't want to be anything to you."

He slapped her then pinned her to the ground by her throat. "That is the last thing you want to be, and it's not why you were crying. Now tell me why you're upset."

"I'm upset because I'm still stuck here with you. Why can't you just get with someone who wants to be with you?"

Madara chuckled and stroked her face. "I see. You are worried I am going to choose someone else to be with. I could never find someone like you. There is no one I want to be with more, and there never will be."

He moved lower to kiss her, but Temari slapped his hand away from her face. "You should have told them the truth. I am a slave, and calling me one would have been better than a concubine." Temari stared up at him and felt his hand tense around her throat.

But Madara stopped and sat back up releasing her throat. "You have no clue what it's like to be a slave. Now get up there and dance." She didn't expect him to let her go and she was a bit apprehensive.

Temari stood with a small tinkle from her kanzashi. She was unsettled and annoyed that she really did let his word choice get to her. But she was even more upset that everyone knew exactly what she was doing with him. And then there was the rumor he spread about her choosing to be with him. How many people already believed him? They probably thought she was an idiot, and that she deserved to be his concubine.

He had just isolated and embarrassed her in front of everyone. He made sure that she would get no advantage from being in a close position to him.

She readied the music and grabbed the two smaller fans. The music that started was a very traditional song called Sakura. [ youtu .b/ AK51Lblc EOw? list= PLGEgu6lN fuQMeIzRBeX oO4jSo -XCRfzpI]

It wasn't the dance she had planned to do, but she wanted to irritate him as much as he did her. Nothing she had done before was so traditional and so boring to her, but she did it as a way to retaliate.

He wanted a traditional label for her. He wanted her decked out in these opulent traditional clothes. He could deal with a traditional dance.

Near the end she began to wonder how he would react. She couldn't discern anything during it, but as the song ended she became incredibly worried.

She went to sit and he stopped her. "Do not sit. Go to the bedroom and wait for me there. I need to make sure I have attended to everything for the evening."

Temari did not like this. The last time he didn't pounce on her right after her dance she almost drowned with him inside her. The secret room flashed before her, and she was already formulating an apology before she even reached the door.

* * *

Temari went over to the shallow pit of pillows and blankets and quickly checked for the hidden rope. She sighed from relief when she found it, but she still had no clue how it could help her.

She went over to the bed and sat on the edge waiting for Madara. She hoped that he would never come, but the quiet slide from the door informed her that she was in for another disappointment. Her head jerked up when she heard the door to the secret room open, but she didn't meet his eyes.

"Madara-sama, I thought you would like that dance. I know it's not like anything I've done before, but since we were back in Konoha I thought you'd appreciate something more classic than what I usually do."

She could no longer see Madara from the bed, and he didn't answer her. "I'm sorry you didn't like it. I won't do it again." Temari found herself at a new low, but what was one more indignity after a long day of them. "Please, just come join me on the bed. We can- I want to-"

Temari couldn't bring herself to voice what was so hard to even think of. She readied herself to try again, but stopped when she saw Madara leave the secret room. He walked over to her and she felt her mouth go dry. Their eyes met and Temari felt like a child.

Even on the elevated bed he seemed impossibly imposing. She stood to try to negate the effect of his presence, but the act just made her feel light-headed.

He walked up the few steps to her, their eyes never leaving the other's. She opened her mouth not knowing what she would say, but he kissed her instead. It was almost gentle; it was completely disorienting.

She remembered the open door to a possibility of incredible pain and she returned the kiss. She was an emotional wreck, and she didn't care. She didn't stop her tears from falling. They added a salty taste to their lips and it was the best kiss she had ever had. She sobbed a little more and kissed him a little harder from the depressing realization.

He began to untie her obi, and she let him. Temari didn't know if it was the possibility of torture or the horrible day she had, but she wanted someone to care about her. She needed to believe that at least one person in the world wanted her, even if it was the man who caused it all.

He pushed the many layers she wore past her shoulders and Temari let them fall to the floor. She felt the chill in the air and then the warmth of his body.

She choose warmth and leaned into him with her eyes closed. No longer just returning his kiss, but initiating her own. Her arms went to his chest and for once she did not push him away. Her hands tingled from the sudden heat from his body, and a fire was kindling in her stomach.

He held her to him with one hand on her back and the other on her neck, but she didn't mind. She didn't want the kiss to stop. But it did, almost as abruptly as it started.

Temari leaned in to kiss him again but found nothing. She opened her eyes and found him looking at her with a small smile that reached his eyes. He let out a small chuckle then pushed her back onto the bed.

He looked down on her beginning to undress himself. She saw him grow in his pants, and Temari quickly left the daze she was in.  _This is not what I want._

She moved back towards the middle of the large bed. She felt like a mouse cornered by a cat, and Madara's smile grew.

"I do not know what to make of you half the time. I knew that dance of yours was some kind of rebellion. I thought about it, and I could only think that it was because you were truly angry with me. Tell me why you chose that dance." Madara was undressed and sitting on the edge of the bed massaging Temari's leg.

She wanted to kick his hand off of her, but instead she sat up and naturally pulled her leg away from him. "I figured that if you wanted a proper label for me, that you would want a proper dance. How was I to know that you wouldn't like it? I thought it was what you wanted from me in the first place."

"So what made you think I did not like it, if you thought it was what I originally wanted?"

"I'm not sure, but I was right, wasn't I? You didn't like it."

Madara sighed, "I used to and still do like the older style of dancing. However, when you move it is not just about your style. It is about your soul. I am going to give you the benefit of doubt this one time, but do not disappoint me again."

Temari shook her head. Madara continued, "You must realize that I had different plans for you tonight?"

Temari nodded. "I know."

"Then that is your first  _official_  rule. Do not disappoint me with your dance. Anything below your best will be met with severe punishment." He grabbed her leg again and pulled her down on her back.

"Now about what just happened." He moved over her and the warmth that used to be in Temari's stomach turned to acid. "I  _really_  enjoyed that. And if all it took was the threat of me taking you into that room, I cannot wait to see what you will do once you have actually gotten a taste of it." He came down on her and kissed the hollow of her throat. "And in the spirit of being 'proper' tonight, tell me where your proper place is,  _concubine_." A hand playfully danced down her stomach and circled around her belly button. "It's an easy question with an easy answer."

Her heart beat faster as he lightly moved his lips down her neck to her collar. It was light and unlike him. His breath tickled her skin and she squirmed from it. His hair brushed against her breasts. She wanted to hold it. To get a better feel of it. She reached for him but Madara found her wrist and held it down. "Answer me."

"My proper place is beneath you." With that all of her emotions from the cave flooded back into her. Feelings of depression and inferiority overwhelmed anything else that may have been growing within her. The curiosity she thought of sating was instantly forgotten. She remembered the looks she had to bear from the shinobi earlier that day, and it felt like they were there with her now. She knew they all knew who occupied Madara's nights.

His fingers moved inside her and made her tense from discomfort. She thought of asking him to stop. But she wanted to keep her voice, so she remained quiet. He added another finger and she cried out from the addition.

"I have been without your voice for too long, and I can think of many more places you belong. Tell me. Tell me of the places you should be." Madara bit down on her nipple, and Temari used her free hand to grab the blanket beneath her. Madara was as rough as usual with her and she needed to think. "I belong in front of you dancing and next to you when you want me."

He pulled his fingers from her. He licked two clean before tracing her lips with the third. "Where else?"

Temari instinctively licked her lips and tried to hide her reaction from tasting herself. She wasn't exactly as sweet as Madara might say, but it really wasn't that unpleasant. Madara kissed her and bit her lip before speaking into her neck, "Answer me."

"I belong wherever you want me."

Madara chuckled deeply and Temari could feel the vibrations through her body. "You belong on your knees." Madara heard her inhale sharply as he swiftly stood and pulled her off the bed by her wrist. Temari practically flew down the stairs after him and across the room to the pit of pillows.

"Show me where your place is." Temari looked up at him and then down at the pillows beneath her. No one could deny that she had gone through things that should have broken her spirit. She had said things that she shuddered to think of and she had done things that shamed her. Today alone Madara basically told the world that she was in Konoha as some sort of willing tribute from Suna to be used as he saw fit. Her friends openly judged her.

She was left alone to deal with a monster who continually proved that he had very human desires.

She met his eyes once more and shook her head. She braced herself for the slap she knew would come, but was instead met with a punch to the stomach. She groaned from the pain and he kicked her knee. She heard a pop and was forced to support her weight on one leg. "I lost control. I didn't mean to hurt your knee. Breaking a bone is better. It's easier to heal."

Temari saw him prepare his leg for a kick. She screamed, "No, don't!" But he kicked her shin and Temari could only squeak from the pain it caused. She fell and hissed from the impact she made on her injured knee.

"This is why I didn't mean to hurt your knee. Now you're going to be preoccupied when your mind should be on bigger things." Temari sat down and started to shake from the crazed laughter coming from a deep place within her.

"I don't care what bones you snap or joints you dislocate. If you put that thing anywhere near my mouth I promise you'll never use it again."

He cradled her face and kissed her on the forehead. "You are a veritable whirlwind tonight. First you're distraught and pleading, then you're absolutely amazing. But when it's time for the real fun you become withdrawn and now indignant."

"I must admit that a part of me thinks it means you live up to your abilities, but the part of me that doesn't want to test your conviction is telling me to wait. I sometimes forget that pain can only push you so far." He bent down to her level and laid her down into the pillows. "The one thing I do know is that I don't mind any of it."

He pushed on her injured knee and calf while forcing her to spread her legs. Temari did her best to not react, but the effort made Madara's smile a bit broader. The pain he caused her from this made him incredibly hard and even more impatient. He practically growled when he pushed into her and Temari met it with her own howl of defiance and pain. He was aggressive as usual and Temari felt every move. She was thankful that he didn't take the time to get any tools to add to her pain. His own two hands were more than enough.

* * *

The next morning she found herself literally unable to leave the bed. Madara left her there for what seemed like hours before he returned. He carried her wrapped in a sheet to a sitting room, and Temari wondered just how many rooms this palace had.

Shizune was waiting for her. Madara dropped her on a couch and sat across from them. "I will not always be here, but I had a few questions for you, Shizune. First is there anything wrong with her that would affect her fertility?"

Shizune carefully unwound the sheet while she conversed with him. "No, but things like children can take time. It's a game of chance and sometimes the outcome isn't what you want." Shizune could finally look at Temari and she swallowed hard at what she saw. She was covered in contusions and she had at least three broken bones. Shizune began a preliminary body scan and noticed the dried blood on her inner thighs. Temari looked at the ceiling to avoid the look on her face.

Madara nodded, "Yes, that is good to hear. I don't want her to receive any kind of medication without my permission first. I also don't want her to receive any kind of pain relief. Whatever she feels she deserves. And make sure her legs are in perfect condition by this evening. She has certain duties I require of her and her limbs are vital to them."

Shizune went to her legs and nodded. "It will take a few hours for her knee to heal, but it would seem that you avoided permanently damaging it. The rest are breaks and should be fine before this evening. There are a couple deep tissue bruises but they too can be healed by this evening."

Madara readied to leave the room, "I trust that nothing you see or hear will leave this room?"

"Of course not, Uchiha-sama." With that he left and Shizune turned back to Temari with eyes brimming with tears. She pulled out a pad and paper, but Temari told her it wasn't necessary.

She began with her knee and the more serious injuries first. "Um...Temari, would you like to talk about this?"

Temari didn't dare look away from the ceiling. She felt humiliated beyond belief and she just couldn't stand to see a perfect looking Shizune pitying her.

Shizune went on, "It's OK if you don't want to talk. I understand, but I need you to spread your legs for me. I need to touch you in order to heal you properly and fast." Temari did as she asked, but she sobbed until she ran out tears and then cried some more. "I'm so sorry, Temari. But I think it's important I heal you perfectly here as well as your legs. Something tells me you...um, have a burden of duties more plentiful than most."

Temari's voice was soft from crying when she replied, "It probably would have been worse if he hadn't hurt my knee." Shizune held in her reaction and wondered how it could be "worse" than this.

"How could him hurting your knee lead to fewer injuries?"

Temari could barely say it, but she knew from her training that she needed to talk about her experiences, and who better to than to a doctor. "Because I could not support myself on only one knee and still-" Shizune was horrified and wanted to just give Temari a hug, but as a doctor she knew that physical contact may be the last thing she wanted. She sadly had little experience dealing with torture victims and even less with victims of sexual abuse. Temari was dealing with both and, as far as Shizune knew, she was the only one who knew the true extent of it.

"Temari, I know that Madara said I could do nothing to relieve your pain, but I'm going to put you to sleep. It will make my work go by faster and, frankly you need it. We all heal better while we sleep anyway. Do you have any objections?"

"Just make it dreamless."


End file.
